Medical Encounters

Rushil complained that his eyes were sore yesterday and asked me to pick him up early.  I took him to see a doctor, his allergies have been pretty bad since we've returned back to Bangalore, his eyes have been puffy every morning and evening.  Rushil has been taking Allegra but the doctor said that it was not effective for itchy eyes and prescribed cetrizine (Zyrtec) instead. She then went on to prescribe an elaborate moisturizing routine with pure coconut oil and other lotions which I don't think we'll follow, his eczema is not that bad.    When Rushil was on Zyrtec a few years ago, he used to wake up with terrible nightmares and had mood swings. I wasn't sure if it was the medication or his eczema that was triggering this behaviour.  I had talked to a friend of mine around the same time whose son was also experiencing odd behaviour on antihistamines.  As Rushil's skin got better, I stopped giving him Zyrtec and the nightmares disappeared, my friend also observed the same improvement with her son. I was however not sure whether there was a direct correlation to the medication.. As we were leaving, I asked the doctor if she was aware of any side effects of Zyrtec. She stopped in her tracks and immediately asked for the prescription back. She said yes, that she had experienced side effects and she quickly changed Rushil's prescription.  I was glad that I brought it up, I was sure she would brush aside my concerns and was pleasantly surprised that she was aware of the side effects.