Allergies are easy to treat for many children, they simply take an allergy medication, such as Allegra (fexofenadine), Claritin (loratadine), Singulair (montelukast), or Zyrtec (cetirizine), and their allergy symptoms get under easy control.
Other children have more hard-to-control allergies though, and suffer either with their allergy symptoms or try many different allergy medicines without relief. It is much better to get help to learn treat your child's allergies more effectively.
Hard-to-Control Allergies
To help treat your child's allergies, it can be helpful to:
Avoiding those things that trigger your child's allergies (allergens) would seem like the easiest and best thing to prevent and control allergies, unfortunately that isn't always easy to do. It can be if you are allergic to things like cats or dogs, and you don't have any pets, or if you are only allergic to East Texas trees and you live in California.
But what if you are allergic to cats and you own a cat or if your are allergic to East Texas trees and you live in East Texas? Allergen avoidance becomes a little harder then.
How do you even know what is triggering your child's allergies and what allergens to avoid?
One technique is to simply try and avoid all of the most common things that trigger allergies, especially by controlling indoor allergens:
Dust Mites
Mold - molds are allergens that can be present both inside and outside the home. You can avoid outdoor mold by checking mold counts (they are usually higher after it rains), and avoiding dark, wet areas around your home. Indoor mold can often be controlled by decreasing humidity and quickly cleaning areas damaged by water spills or leaks, to prevent the growth of mold in your home.
Pollens - pollens from trees, grasses, and weeds typically cause seasonal allergy symptoms. Although you can't avoid these allergens unless you never go outside, you can reduce your child's exposure by:
Cockroaches - controlling cockroaches inside your home, since their droppings are a common indoor allergen and can trigger both allergies and asthma symptoms, is a good idea if your are trying to avoid common allergy triggers.
Allergy Symptom Diary
If you aren't having much luck controlling your child's allergies by simply trying to avoid common allergy triggers, you can try to keep an allergy symptom diary to try and narrow down exactly what your child is allergic too.
As with other symptom diaries, just record all of the things that your child recently did around the time that his allergy symptoms worsened, and look for things like allergy symptoms that are:
Allergy Testing
If you can't figure out what is triggering your child's allergies with an allergy symptom diary, and trying to avoid common allergens isn't working, then allergy testing may be helpful for your child.
Although many parents don't consider allergy testing because they think their child is too young or because allergy testing is too painful, it is an important tool that can be done relatively painlessly at almost any age.
In addition to the traditional skin prick testing that is usually done by an allergist, your pediatrician may be able to order the Immunocap CAP-RAST test, which is a blood test that can check for antibodies to many different allergens, including foods, pollens, mold, etc.
Other children have more hard-to-control allergies though, and suffer either with their allergy symptoms or try many different allergy medicines without relief. It is much better to get help to learn treat your child's allergies more effectively.
Hard-to-Control Allergies
To help treat your child's allergies, it can be helpful to:
- avoid allergy triggers as much as possible
- figure out what is triggering your child's allergies with a symptom diary or allergy testing
- consider giving your child his allergy medicine every day, especially during his allergy season
- make sure your child is taking the right medication for his allergy symptoms
- consider a combination of medications, such as an antihistamine and a nasal steroid
- try nasal washes to clear allergens, irritants, and mucus from your child's nose
- consider allergy shots if you child has moderate to severe allergy symptoms that are hard to control
- see a pediatric allergist to evaluate and manage your child's allergies
Avoiding those things that trigger your child's allergies (allergens) would seem like the easiest and best thing to prevent and control allergies, unfortunately that isn't always easy to do. It can be if you are allergic to things like cats or dogs, and you don't have any pets, or if you are only allergic to East Texas trees and you live in California.
But what if you are allergic to cats and you own a cat or if your are allergic to East Texas trees and you live in East Texas? Allergen avoidance becomes a little harder then.
How do you even know what is triggering your child's allergies and what allergens to avoid?
One technique is to simply try and avoid all of the most common things that trigger allergies, especially by controlling indoor allergens:
Dust Mites
- place a zippered allergy proof cover on your child's mattress, box spring, and pillow to avoid dust mites that often live in beds
- wash all bedding in hot water (130 degrees F) at least every two weeks
- remove dust collectors from your child's bedroom, including carpets, heavy curtains, and stuffed animals, etc., and try to minimize the use of carpets and upholstered furniture in the rest of your house
- avoid humidifiers and consider using a dehumidifier, as dust mites like humidity
- use a vacuum that includes a HEPA filter, but only when your child is not in room
Mold - molds are allergens that can be present both inside and outside the home. You can avoid outdoor mold by checking mold counts (they are usually higher after it rains), and avoiding dark, wet areas around your home. Indoor mold can often be controlled by decreasing humidity and quickly cleaning areas damaged by water spills or leaks, to prevent the growth of mold in your home.
Pollens - pollens from trees, grasses, and weeds typically cause seasonal allergy symptoms. Although you can't avoid these allergens unless you never go outside, you can reduce your child's exposure by:
- keeping windows closed in your home and car
- avoid outdoor activities when pollen counts are very high and/or it is windy
- take a bath or shower or at least change clothes and wash your child's hands and face after being outdoors on high pollen days
- consider using a HEPA air cleaner insider your home
Cockroaches - controlling cockroaches inside your home, since their droppings are a common indoor allergen and can trigger both allergies and asthma symptoms, is a good idea if your are trying to avoid common allergy triggers.
Allergy Symptom Diary
If you aren't having much luck controlling your child's allergies by simply trying to avoid common allergy triggers, you can try to keep an allergy symptom diary to try and narrow down exactly what your child is allergic too.
As with other symptom diaries, just record all of the things that your child recently did around the time that his allergy symptoms worsened, and look for things like allergy symptoms that are:
- worse on a rainy day (mold allergy)
- worse on a windy day (pollen or mold allergy)
- better on a rainy day (pollen allergy)
- worse when your child mows the lawn or is around someone that is mowing the lawn (mold allergy)
- worse after exposure to a specific pet, like your friend's cat, or simply after exposure to someone who owns a cat (pet dander)
- worse when you vacuum in the house (dust mites)
- worse when specific pollen or mold counts are high (pollen or mold allergy)
Allergy Testing
If you can't figure out what is triggering your child's allergies with an allergy symptom diary, and trying to avoid common allergens isn't working, then allergy testing may be helpful for your child.
Although many parents don't consider allergy testing because they think their child is too young or because allergy testing is too painful, it is an important tool that can be done relatively painlessly at almost any age.
In addition to the traditional skin prick testing that is usually done by an allergist, your pediatrician may be able to order the Immunocap CAP-RAST test, which is a blood test that can check for antibodies to many different allergens, including foods, pollens, mold, etc.
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