My DS who is 21 months has had constant sinus infections since we moved into our new home a year ago. The allergist believes it's from our cat...but I find it hard to believe that is the whole story. He never had an infection until the week after we moved in and has had them constantly since. I think it's something in the house, specifically the previous owners 2 dogs and 2+ cats (he's allergic to dogs and mildly allergic to cats). Anyway...he's getting another infection due to the cold he had last week. The doctor told me to wait until he starts coughing to give him antibiotics (which he would have to be on for three weeks). So right now I'm flushing out his nose with a saline flush and keeping him on Nasonex. Do any of you have any other suggestions? I'm getting very frustrated with the allergist (for many other reasons I won't go into). Some of you have suggested I look into an ENT- since he already sees an allergist would it still be beneficial? Thanks so much!

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 01:57 pm:

Do you have a HEPA air cleaner in his bedroom? If not, I highly recommend one.

By Jjb on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 04:24 pm:

Oh that's a great idea thanks Trina! These are the things I was looking for from the doctor's office (now I say doctor's office because although I waited 2.5 hours and requested a doctor I only got to see the NP- who I don't care for).

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 04:31 pm:

That was me exactly the entire year and a half in our rental house when we were first married. Sinus infections I could NOT get rid of, with no history previously. Turns out there was mold in the crawl space. We bought another house and within 3 weeks I was feeling better and the last antibiotic I took ACTUALLY worked. I haven't had a problem since.

Not sure if your house is "new" or just new to you, but regardless mold could still be an issue. There are sooo many brand new homes around here with mold growing in the walls and lawsuits everywhere. If it's an older home, there could be mold in your crawlspace that you don't know about. Good luck! That was just my experience.

By Justanaunt on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 06:04 pm:

I was thinking it may be mold as well. Someone I know moved into a new house and both of her kids stayed sick. It turned out that there was mold under the carpet in that house.

By Jjb on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 07:46 pm:

I originally thought mold too. His room is on the second floor away from the crawl space. We had him allergy tested for all the typical environ. allergies and they were all negative...except for dogs and cats. Could it be mold when he tested negative (please say no)? The rest of us have been healthy. He currently doesn't have any allergens in his nose but according to the nurse he does have the signs of an early sinus infection. I feel bad for him and want to rid our home of whatever is causing this instead of having him on medication.

Our house was built in 1991 and had two previous owners. The first had one dog and the second had two dogs and a few cats. The owners before us did not clean very well to say the least. We do live in Richmond- a mold friendly area.

By Amecmom on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 08:49 pm:

Another thought is that the antibiotics have not worked to completely kill off the original infection and the bacteria keeps bulding up once he's off the antibiotic. Have they tried different antibiotics? My children both had recurrent sinus infections until they were put on a 21 day course of Biaxin (augmentin, amox. and cefzil were tried previously). The longer course of Biaxin coupled with and antihystamine called atarax did the trick.
Hope he feels better.
Ame

By Cocoabutter on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 09:43 pm:

If the problem is the house, no amount of antibiotics is going to help. This could very well be a life long problem for him is you don't take extreme measures.

I would do my own test. Take him with you for a weekend at a hotel or anywhere away from home and away from the kitty and see what his symptoms are. Obviously, he may have been fine if he were just around your kitty, but he is actually being bombarded with the dander of 5+ different animals in addition to your own kitty. If you take him out of that environment for a while and his symptoms subside, then you know what is causing it.

I would do everything you can to rid the house of any trace of animals. I would rip up all the carpets in the house and clean the floors. Is the basement also carpeted? Rip that carpet up too. You never know, you just may find mold or something else you didn't know was there because it was so well hidden.

And have the ductwork cleaned by a professional. The animal dander may be in the ductwork as well.

By Tripletmom on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 09:46 pm:

Ditto the HEPA air cleaner.