8 tips for parents of a child with allergies

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Does your child sneeze and sneeze incessantly? Perhaps it's not a common cold, but seasonal allergies. What to do in such a situation, we will tell you today.

1. Learn to recognize allergy symptoms

"Apchi" - is it a manifestation of an allergy or a common cold? Sneezing, itchy nose and throat, burning eyes, and redness can be symptoms of an allergy.

Pay attention to nasal discharge. With allergies, they are transparent and watery. With a common cold, they thicken after a few days, and after a week they stop completely.

2. Consider age

Young children, contrary to popular belief, can also have seasonal allergies. Pollinosis usually affects children 3-5 years old. Indoor allergens, such as dust mites or pet hair, can be a reaction for children 1–2 years old. Often, with age, a child's allergy goes away by itself. But sometimes it can manifest itself throughout life.

3. Remember heredity

Children often inherit allergies from mom or dad. This allergy will not necessarily be to the same things as the parents. Inherited predisposition, special allergic sensitivity. But the allergen to which the body will react can be anything.

4. Start treatment

In the pharmacy, you can find many drugs, including inexpensive ones, that effectively deal with the symptoms of allergies in children. Although many antihistamines are available over the counter, don't self-medicate. First of all, go to an appointment with a doctor so that the specialist will prescribe the correct treatment and select the most appropriate medicine.

5. Prepare in advance

Medicines must be given to the child throughout the entire flowering period, even if he has become much better. Antihistamines must be stored in the body for them to be effective. For the same reason, medication should be taken in the evening, not in the morning. This is especially true for nasal sprays.

But grabbing the first aid kit when in direct contact with an allergen is a common mistake.

6. Avoid pollen

The best way to avoid allergies is to stop all contact with the allergen. But it's not easy at all if he is in the air.

It is better to plan outdoor games in the evening: there is too much pollen in the air in the morning. When leaving the house, do not forget about the glasses: they will help protect your eyes from the allergen.

There should be no pollen in the child's bedroom: keep windows and doors closed, send the child to the shower and thoroughly rinse his hair after a walk, purchase an air filter.

7. Consider Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy

If, despite medications and preventive measures, your child still has a hard time tolerating allergies, ask your doctor if immunotherapy is possible in your case. Usually it is prescribed to children 7-9 years old after the flowering season. A series of injections are given over several months, followed by additional injections every few years. With their help, you can develop resistance to an allergen, which means that you can completely get rid of unpleasant symptoms.

8. Don't close your eyes to allergies

If your child has asthma, an uncontrolled allergy can cause severe attacks with wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing. In addition, children with a stuffy nose and constantly watery eyes are unlikely to find it easy to focus on their studies. Therefore, do not let the allergy go by itself and be sure to take preventive and protective measures.