Here We Go AGAIN Allergies vs Cold 2Yr Old

**Adding this:
About Mucus secretions- in allergy it is clear. If sick or having an infection, mucus will be yellow or green or brown.
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Fever, is NOT allergy.
It is an illness or Flu or infection.

Back to back colds, happen. It is often another type of virus, not a relapse.

My son, was sick 2 weeks ago. A head cold and sore throat and symptoms like your son. He did not have strep or anything. Then he got better. But yesterday... he got sick again. Today he is home sick from school. I took him to the Doctor. The Doctor said it is NOT a relapse and it is another cold virus. And it is not allergy.
Meanwhile, I got sick too. From him, last week. But mine progressed more... and I developed Bronchitis, for which I needed Antibiotics etc.

Per Antibiotics, if one family of Antibiotics does not work, then another type of Antibiotic needs to be used. BUT... antibiotics are generally for bacterial infections. Not viral.

IF, allergy OTC meds do not help... then the person is sick.
But allergy meds, have things in it which dries up mucus secretions. BUT if a person is sick, it will NOT clear up, completely.

Nasal sprays, are typically steroidal based. "Corticosteroid" to be specific.
Per my Pediatrician, he did not recommend this for my son. He is a child. He only recommended a Saline, nasal spray. BUT in my case, being an Adult, I was prescribed a Nasonex steroidal nasal spray.

My Pediatrician said: that per my son, it is NOT a relapse of the same cold he had 2 weeks ago. Relapses, are not common. BUT there are many cold viruses going around now, and so many different strains.

Also, per this age (my son is 5), a child typically gets sick about 8 times a year. Then from ages 7-8, the frequency of a child getting sick, lessens.
Younger kids, are very touchy and grab things and touch things and their hands/face/mouth etc. And they are not as hygenic as older kids. Thus, due to their age related habits, and them being in either Preschool or school, germs transmit very readily. But in older kids, this is less so. This is per my Doctor.

Per what OTC med to give your son: you need to ask the Pediatrician. He is only 2 years old.

Flonase or Nazonex type things, can take... up to 2 weeks to make a marked difference.
Keep that in mind.
It is not instant cure.
And it is steroidal based.
So, ask the Doctor, about how to stop, once on it.

Inhalers: do NOT "cure" the illness. What it does is to reduce the inflammation of the bronchial airways, so that the person can breathe.
Nor does it stop, mucus.

Also, per the colds that my son and I had, we also had, scratchy frog voices. Too. And so did all of the other people we know, who was sick with this cold... which is going around in my city. And the low grade fever.
But for me, I actually got Laryngitis. My son on the other hand, just had the scratchy frog voice. In addition to all the other symptoms, that you mentioned your son, has.

Secondary infections can also happen after being sick.
Like me. I got Bronchitis.
And if your son keeps getting fever... he is sick.
This is not allergy.

Maybe your son is sick... PLUS he has seasonal allergies.
Which exacerbates, your son's cold or visa versa.
But again, Fever, is not allergy.

Real easy way to tell, get him tested for allergies. OTC meds will likely not work. Depending on what he is allergic to, he will need a specific med. My family all has allergies, both food and environmental. Some life threatening, some just a daily annoyance. But your child should not be medicated without knowing what he is being medicated for, and giving the right meds. Often oral meds do help environmental allergies, they are often better for food related allergies. My daughter is on daily zyrtec for food allergies, and the only thing that helps her environmental allergies is the nasal spray. My son has fwer food allergies so not on a daily oral med, he takes a nasal spray for when his allergies fare up, but he has a different spray due to different environmental allergies. If it turns out he does not have allergies, other chronic conditions will need to be evaluated. He could have another immune disorder or something else. Yes it could be allergies but it could be something else. If this has been going on a year, you need him tested asap. Like now, call the allergist today. If you switched docs, that should not affect getting an allergist appt. Call your insurance and ask for a list of providers. If you need a referral call the new docs office and say you have this appt, and you need the referral. You say the flonase is not helping, that means it is either not an allergy problem, or else it is the wrong med for what he is allergic to. and the only way to know what he is allergic to is to have him tested. Nasal sprays are highly effective for environmental allergies so perhaps he has a food allergy. In which case the best form of treatment is to avoid that food. My daughter does take a daily dose because her allergy to peanuts is so severe even contact with a person whop ate them could cause a severe reaction. But most people with food allergies just need to avoid the food. And your son would not fall into that category if he is not having life threatening reactions at this time. I would suspect from his not responding to a nasal spray that his is likely having a food allergy or else some other issue. So I can't stress enough how important it is to get him tested. If you find out what he is allergic to, you can treat it, if you find out it isn't an allergy they will run further tests and refer you elsewhere if needed. But if he is suffering this much, that isn't right. Now colds can and do last for a long time in small children. I am not sure how old your son is, but it is possible he is getting one cold after another. There are tons, and tons of things going around right now, and there have been a lot of milder viruses going around all year. This is a good thing, as there has been very little flu this year, but kids are having months of coldlike symptoms due to the other viruses and I know some parents would opt for 2 weeks of terrible over 10 months of constant mild symptoms. But that is how it happened this year, next year may bring something totally different. I really hope you can find something out. Having a sick kid is no fun! The good news if it is constant colds, is that as he gets older they will get milder and not last as long. The bad news for that is there is nothing you can do but suffer with him through it. Makes you almost hope it is an allergy you can just eliminate. Hope you can get it figured out soon!

ETA: Just noticed you mention fever, that is not an allergy, makes it more likely he is having a lot of viral issues. I would still recommend an allergist to rule out allergies. But he may just be having bad reactions to the many, many viruses going around right now. some kids get it bad. Having allergies can make it worse, so get that allergy testing done. But when he has fevers, that is not an allergic response.

I have been going through the same thing with my 10 year old! How long has he been on flonase? My son just starteed it yesterday and his doctor told be it will take about a week and then he should be fine. He has him staying on it until about the middle of June, he also has QVAR inhaler 2x a day and I give him walgreens brand allergy meds. Good Luck!

It shouldn't take hardly any time to switch physicians, call the insurance company (or did you change insurance companies?).

Your son sounds like he needs an IgE allergy test for food & environmental allergies in a single blood draw. You need to rule things in or rule things out and treat properly.

Sounds a lot like my 3.5 yr old. We symptoms were red, itchy eyes, sometimes watery. Constant stuffy/runny nose. Dry cough. Dark circles under both eyes. And what he said was a sore throat. No fever. Otherwise was acting normally (maybe a little more tired cause he felt so crummy).
We tried lots of OTC allergy meds. I knew it was allergies, not a cold. Colds don't come and go depending on the weather nor do they last for a month straight. And with no fever I knew it wasn't a sinus infection. Finally called his Pedi who actually gave us a script for Clarinex, a prescription only allergy med. It's given once daily and I must say it is really helping. Well, it helped everything except the cough. He would cough so hard (just a dry cough) that he would gag, then he would vomit. So I went out and got Delsym for kids. Works like a charm. No more cough and no more horrible allergy symptoms. FYI - I'm an RN so I have no problems telling the pedi what I need for him no do I have an reservations about starting him on an OTC med without first clearing it from his docs.

Fevers can happen if the allergies persist and an ear or sinus infection occurs. It can seem never-ending. My son was on Claritin, but it just wasn't strong enough. Now he is on Zyrtec. I also buy the Rite Aid brand of Zyrtec- a lot cheaper and works just as well. He has to take it every night. I can always tell when it's allergies- he gets dark circles under his eyes. So bad, in fact, that he can look like he has been bruised. He doesn't have a runny nose- just stuffy with a cough.
Also, when the insurance switches, you have to see an allergist. With allergies, avoidance is key. Find out what he's allergic to and then avoid it at all cost. In the meantime, you could try children's Zyrtec or Claritin. It can't hurt. If you choose Zyrtec, make sure to give it at bedtime- it can make children drowsy.
Hope this helps!