Environmental allergy related...

jandb2011

I know this is the food allergy board, but I'm hoping some of you ladies can help me out.  DS has food and environmental allergies, so I'm figuring at least some of your DC's do too.

Allergy season started early and has hit hard this yr, in our area.  DS had his 6th birthday in April and has been so miserable that we went ahead and upped his med dose to the 10mg version, from the 5mg one.  We noticed it helped a little and he's better able to sleep, but is still coughing, sniffling, and dealing with watery eyes all the time.  

He had his 6yr check-up with the pedi last Monday and she noticed a lot of fluid build-up in his ears and how much he was sniffling and coughing.  So, she Rx a corticosteriod, nasal spray, and switched him from Claritin to Zyrtec.

We went ahead and put him on the Zyrtec, but both my DH and I are nervous about putting him on the corticosteriod, mostly due to the long list of unpleasant side effects.

Does anyone have any experience with their DC and a corticosteriod?  How did they react?  What was it being used for and did it help?  How long did they need to be on it?

Any info or personal experience with this would be greatly appreciated.  TIA