Zyrtec = One Crazy Kid

Yesterday, I took my son to the doctor. He has had a cold since he started back at school again in September. I have taken him now to three different doctors. All the same diagnosis. It's a cold. Well, thanks I already knew that. At least the doctor we saw yesterday told me to do something more than saline spray.  Now, I don't like medicine. I am anti-medicine most of the time.  But nothing seems to he making a difference in Diego's cold. So, now my options are antihistamines, antibiotics, or albuterol.

I decided to start with the antihistamines. (I had already given him benadryl with little to no effect.) As I stood in CVS weighing my options, I took Diego's food sensitivities into account. I chose dye-free, sugar-free zyrtec - for indoor and outdoor allergies. I figured I had all my bases covered. So, off we went to our lunch date - a mama and the light of her life.

As the day went on Diego became antsy. He was snappy, almost obnoxious. He is not a kid who answers back unless something is going on with him. I assumed it was because we hadn't been to the playground. We got through the day and I was glad for bedtime.
Today was no different, it was almost as if he was jumping out of his skin.  We were going ice skating later in the day and I knew that would wipe him out.  As the day wore on, though, Diego's behavior didn't get better. He was scattered, hyper, throwing toys and yelling at us. The ice skating, I thought, must have over stimulated him instead of tiring him out.  He was ok for a bit, played with a friend and actually sat down to eat. But by bathtime, I was at my wits end. He was so hyper that he hit his head in the bathtub because he had been shaking his head so hard that his bottom slipped out from under him. WithTears wiped away, Diego got his pajamas on, took vitamins, medicine, and read a story. then off to bed.

Once he was asleep, I went over the day - what was different, what did he eat, what did he drink. The only difference was the zyrtec. Ugh. I went to the internet, googled zyrtec side effects, and sure enough hundreds of decriptions of exactly what I was seeing. And I had just given him another dose. 24 more hours of this - at least he'll be asleep for 10 of them.
Not sure what to do now... my other option is claritin. It's a different antihistamine. Maybe he won't have a reaction. But really, I'd rather just deal with his cold.