I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls Collective on behalf of Children’s Claritin®. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program.

For as long as I could remember, my eldest son, Mikey, has been affected by spring and fall allergies. In Buffalo fall-time allergies were pretty harsh, but the spring season, here in Georgia, is the absolute worst.  There’s so much pollen that our vehicles (anything outside, really) become caked with a yellow film.  Some days it’s so bad that we have to stay inside.

The dreaded words, usually yelled out, “Mama, where’s my raaaaaaag?” have always signified the start of allergy season.

Mikey doesn’t blow his nose, he wipes it.  It’s frustrating because we’ve told him that if he just blew his nose he’d feel so much better, but he continues to just wipe it.  Those dreaded words used to come with days of us not seeing Mikey’s face.   He just hide under those numerous handkerchiefs that we’ve amassed over the allergy seasons.   I think it was my mother who got him started on them, and he even has some that are monogrammed.

Of course, he wasn’t sick, so our activities would continue; only there he would be hidden under “a rag”.   One time we were grocery shopping, and in the produce section an elderly gentleman saw Mikey pull out his hanky to wipe his nose.  He smiled and told us how wonderful it was to see such a young boy using a handkerchief.    I told him that Mikey had his very own collection of them.  These teen-aged days he’s not so keen on carrying around his “rag”, as he calls them, but he does still use them in and around the house.  I guess it’s not cool to sport one.  Oh, that elderly gentleman would disagree, I’m sure.

Instead Mikey would much rather manage his allergies with medicine, but it’s been hard to find one that doesn’t make him drowsy.  Claritin has a non-drowsy formula that works; they also make chewables, a dye-free liquid form, and 12-hour Reditabs for children six and older.    These options will be so helpful, in the fall, when Mikey goes to Middle School.  He won’t be able to keep the hanky close, so on days when he suffers we know that there is an option to give him relief. 

But, I still won’t get rid of his collection of “rags”.

[Get a coupon for $3 off allergy meds for kids!]

For more tips on relieving allergies, visit www.Facebook.com/Claritin. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.