Walking into a drugstore, you are confronted with an overwhelming display of brightly packaged allergy products, each promising greater allergy relief than its neighbors. Many of these products can actually harm your child and make the effects of allergies even worse. The right choices, however, used in the right ways, can dramatically improve your child's springtime. Decongestants are caffeine-like compounds that work by constricting blood vessels throughout the body, including in the nose. By limiting blood flow to the nose, nasal congestion and swelling are somewhat decreased, providing a measure of relief.
Decongestants temporarily raise the blood pressure and make extra work for the heart.
Since most kids have strong, healthy hearts this is usually not a problem. Rather, the tendency for kids on decongestants to experience irritability or sleeplessness is a more practical concern. If you decide to use a decongestant for your child, pseudoephedrine gives better relief with fewer side effects. These may be a great option for a night or two while another strategy is beginning to work, but are a poor choice for beating the effects of the allergy season. A ntihistamines reduce allergy symptoms by blocking the action of the histamine released by mast cells in response to allergic triggers such as pollen.