Need help! Allergist recommendation for an 8 year old - nearby Centreville/Chantilly area?

[Anonymous]

DS is having BAD allergies, seems worse than ever - severe congestion, runny nose, itchy red eyes and lids, itchy red rashes on his neck, arms and legs, big bubbly blisters on all of his fingers...

As per our current allergist's orders, DS is getting Zyrtec, Benadryl, Zaditor eye drops, hydrocortisone creams and occasional nasal irrigation. DH doesn't want to do steroid spray because it says it may slow growth on the packaging. It's just not working and I'm at my wit's end. I'm wondering about shots therapy - is it too early, does it really work, etc. It would be a nightmare though because I know he will fight, scream, and cry every time - but I will somehow make it happen if it means he gets better. Our doctor said that we shouldn't do it if it may be traumatic for him. But it's bad and he is just absolutely miserable - even acting out everyday at school due to feeling miserable and getting poor/not enough sleep. His teachers are not sympathetic - but that's a different thread topic.

So as I'm not too happy with our current doctor, and his location being inconvenient especially for possible weekly visits, can anyone recommend an allergist near Centreville/Chantilly? We're also looking for a dermatologist. Thank you!

-Signed a desperate mother

[Anonymous]

Nasal steroid spray is the BEST. I'm not buying that it's enough of a steroid to slow growth. I loooooove my Nasacort. And it's OTC now!

That being said, the pollen is absolutely awful right now. Even with taking all the meds, showering every night, changing the pillow case every night, your DS is still getting covered in pollen all day. We give our child zyrtec at night, Sudefed in the morning, saline irrigation at night just before steroid spray, plus super expensive eye drops called Patanol or Pataday. Sounds like he needs the eye drops.

Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

PP here - forgot to name our allergist. We go to the Institute of Asthma and Allergy and recommend them but they don't have an office in Virginia
http://allergyasthma.us/

[Anonymous]

I really like Dr Courtney Blair who has offices in McLean and Sterling. Yes, you need a nasal spray. That makes all the difference for me. I really like veramyst. Get through this allergy season, and then think about shots. They take quite awhile to be effective, and you can't do skin testing while on antihistamines anyway.

You should also add liquid benadryl at night before bed. Oh wait, I see you are doing benadryl. Does he have any asthma symptoms? If so, you also need flovent. Also, you might want to try singulair.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for all the tips! More info the better.