Expert: David Olson, MD - 11/7/2009

Question
Dear Doctor,
My 5 1/2 yrs daughter has been experiencing blocked nose during the night time, which often wakes her up from her sleep. It's probably itchy too because she constantly puts her fingers into her nostrils. She had this problem on an on & off basis and we took her to the doctor, who prescribed Zyrtec the first time, which she took for a couple or 3 times & the next time we met a new doctor (since the first one was on leave) and she gave Aerius. My daughter was completely healed. However, now, after about five months,she's started having this problem again. How can I help my child overcome this problem without having to take any medication. Could it be because we sleep in air-condition (26 degrees)? Could we be doing something wrong? We live in Thailand, and since we are in an apartment, we have quite a small bedroom and we leave the bedroom door open at night which opens to another not so big living room. At the door we have an air purifier which we also put on at night. My child is however fine during the day time. Pls do let me know how and what I can do to help my child.
Thank you so much,
Really worried mom,
GLT

Answer
Hi, Gunjan,

If these are allergy symptoms, then using an antihistamine like Zyrtec or Aerius (I'm not familiar with this medicine) would be very appropriate.  This would help with the allergy symptoms.  Certainly the air conditioning would not be the culprit, I would guess that the open apartment, letting allergens in, would be the cause.

Good luck, Dr. Olson