My daughter uses cetirizine syrup for her seasonal allergies.  We buy the Kirkland brand from Costco.  (Zyrtec / Reactine are the name brands for cetirizine)  This syrup is only available in the USA (not available in Canada).

My allergist is awesome.  She actually emailed me back today.  She said to try Zyrtec at bedtime for 4 days.  If no improvement she will call in a nasal spray!  I expected to hear from her tomorrow.  I'm very impressed!

DS tried Claritin years ago and it did nothing for him.  The doctor prescribed Zyrtec and he has been taking it ever since.

We've found allegra to be the most effective for dS (I use it, too).  The other two didn't work for him.

He also uses Dymista--a combo of Flonase and Astelin. 

Thanks everyone!  I sent the allergist an email to see what she would recommend.  I am considering trying Zyrtec.  DD used to use Nasonex. 

Zyrtec since DD was 3.  She takes either 10 or 20mg daily.

Nasalcrom is another thing that we sometimes use as an add-on.  Works well, but you have to load doses, and then be consistent about it since it has a pretty fast off-rate.

We do Zyrtec at dinner.  Claritin doesn't work for the boys.  It doesn't work for my seasonal allergies but is helpful when I develop hives.  DH prefers Allegra.

DS2 cannot be on Zyrtec on a daily basis for over a week - it makes him a mess mentally.  We had issues prior where it would make him violent.  I will probably be investigating Allegra for longterm use for the winter when his cough variant asthma is in full swing.

OTC Nasocourt did nothing for me but I have had good luck with Flonase.  We have four bottles with everyone's name on them.

My doctor said Zyrtec and Allegra are the strongest antihistamines.  According to our MD allergiest, Claritin is ineffective for a lot of people.

I used to use Zyrtec, but then it started making my mouth really dry.  It makes some people drowsy, but I never had that experience. I switched to Allegra and haven't changed.  The whole family takes Allegra. At one point, ds1 took Zyrtec for awhile but then he built up a tolerance to it.  The allergist said that happens sometimes, but after being off it a number of years, he can go back to it if Allegra stops working.

One word of caution with Allegra.  You have to space having citrus or juice with it.  Otherwise, you decrease the effectiveness.

Our doctor also says all steroid nasal sprays are the same.  However, Flonase gives me a headache.  Nasonex is fine for my whole family.  Nasonex no longer is covered by insurance since OTC Nasocort is available.  We haven't needed to try it, so I can't comment on it. 

While the recommendation is to use steroid nasal sprays consistently, my family does fine with intermittent use as needed.

Saline nasal spray also is helpful, as are OTC eye drops.

My kids didn't get much help from Claritin.  They'd been on Zyrtec for years after trying the Claritin, and then switched to Hydroxyzine (prescription) and have been on that for what seems like forever. 

I've heard many good things about the Nasonex or Nasocort?  Cannot remember which one is OTC.

I use Allegra after trying both Claritin and Zyrtec.  Both of those made me groggy.

Nasonex nasal spray helps the most for our seasonal allergies but it may stunt growth a little bit (maybe 1/4 inch or so) so DS doesn't like to take it and uses just Allegra.  Allegra does not pass the brain/body barrier so doesn't make people feel foggy or other mental symptoms that antihistamines can cause.

I with Nasonex had been around when I was a kid.  It works so much better for me than an antihistamine.  Allegra works well for me, too.

Some of my friends LOVE Zyrtec.  We haven't used it but I have the impression that it is stronger than other antihistamines.  I am not sure that is true, though.

DS is on 10 mg of Zyrtec nightly as prescribed by allergist.  We use flonase as needed.  DS is really hoping allergy shots will make it so he doesn't have to take Zyrtec.

We've been using Claritin for seasonal/environmental allergies.  I'm not sure it's helping very much.  DD is 7 & DS is 10.  What OTC antihistime do/did your kids use?  They are allergic to milk & eggs in addition to seasonal/environment allergies.  Fall and spring seem to be our worst seasons.  Thanks.