Do your children battle with runny noses and itching eyes and endless sneezing in the summer? Then in all probability, they suffer from hay fever.
Are your kids prone to seasonal rhinitis? A runny nose, itchy eyes and lots of sneezing? Does it normally occur during the warmer months of the year? If you answered yes, your child suffers from seasonal rhinitis or also known as allergic rhinitis. The most common cause of allergic rhinitis is pollen particles which float around in the air and when it comes into contact with the nose or eyes of your child it triggers an allergic reaction. The pollen count is at its highest during 10 am and 4 pm during the summer days. The most common symptoms which in babies and toddlers are the same as that which adults encounter are the following:
- Itching eyes and a running or stuffed nose.
- The lower eyelids can be red, watery eyes.
- Itching throat, snoring and coughing.
- Bouts of sneezing,
- Earaches and infections of the channels.
- The child can also experience skin rashes and swelling of the face.
- The symptoms can vary depending on the pollen count and allergens.
Tips to help kids deal with the symptoms can include the following actions which help to avoid coming into contact with pollen or any other allergens:
Treating The Symptoms
When the child displays the symptoms of hay fever or any other allergy it is advisable to let a medical practitioner examine the child. An allergy test can be conducted to determine the source of the allergy. There is not really a cure for it, sometimes symptoms can be less severe or totally disappear. The best you can do is to relieve the symptoms and the best way is by using prescribed age-related antihistamines, nasal sprays and eye drops.
Home remedies
- Let your child gargle with warm salt water to alleviate a sore throat.
- Try nasal irrigation with a saline solution or make your own by mixing salt and Bicarbonate of soda with warm water. This works well for older children and their parents.
- Apply warm compresses to the face to relieve the sinus pressure.
- Drink warm tea with honey and lemon to fight the inflammation and to relieve congestion.
Avoid Pollen And Allergens
Make sure that your child avoids situations which can trigger the hay fever symptoms by doing the following:
- Subscribe to websites and apps which provide you with pollen counts for your area.
- Try to limit the time that your child spent outside during the peak months, this in particular at dusk and dawn.
- Let your child wear a wide-brimmed hat and wrap around glasses to prevent pollen from getting into the eyes and on the hair.
- Smear petroleum jelly around the nostrils to prevent pollen from irritating the nasal area.
- Let them shower or swim to wash the pollen off their hair and body. Afterwards, they must put on fresh clothes.
- Dry their clothes with a tumble dryer and not on the washing line.
Changing Your Child’s Diet To Improve Their Natural Resistance
Your child’s diet can play a big role in helping to manage seasonal rhinitis and to stimulate the body’s own defences to ensure that the child is less dependent on medication. The increase in the intake of natural vitamin C helps the body to do just that, vitamin C is a natural antihistamine and oxidant which can be of great benefit. There are various fruits and vegetables which are excellent sources of vitamin C which can be included in your child’s diet to improve their natural resistance against hay fever and its complications.
Spicy food also helps to clear nasal passages and helps to thin mucus preventing congestion and infection of the sinus cavities.
The consumption of dairy products can be limited as they contribute to congestion which can also lead to inflammation of the nasal passages.