Qingbitang Science Popularization: Spring is here, families with children should pay attention to prevent the onset of allergic rhinitis

Whenever spring comes and flowers bloom, and willows and poplars come back to life, children are exposed to certain allergens, such as cold air, haze, dust mites, pollen, etc. These cause allergic symptoms in children's respiratory tracts, such as frequent sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, itchy eyes, etc.

This causes the symptoms of quiet rhinitis to recur, causing harm to the child. Those who don’t understand may think it is a cold, but it is actually allergic rhinitis.

Qingbitang: What are the dangers of allergic rhinitis?

1. Due to repeated attacks of allergic rhinitis, children's nasal mucosa and respiratory mucosa are easily damaged, leading to combined sinusitis, especially bacterial sinusitis.

2. When rhinitis recurs and is combined with bacterial infection, it can also lead to otitis media. Some children even have middle ear effusion, which affects hearing.

3. Repeated infections can also lead to common complications such as tonsillitis and bronchitis. At the same time, due to the constant stimulation of infectious and non-infectious factors, the child's adenoids will become abnormally enlarged. The enlarged adenoids and tonsils block the airway, which can cause sleep breathing disorders in children in the long run.

It manifests as snoring, or breathing with open mouth, and sudden respiratory arrest.

As the disease worsens, the hypoxia will become more and more severe. Long-term and repeated hypoxia will cause children to suffer from hypoxia during sleep at night, lack of concentration during the day, and they may fall asleep while reading, affecting their studies.

Long-term mouth breathing can also cause the child's oropharynx to develop upward, the facial bones on the face will protrude upward, and some changes in appearance will occur. These changes may affect the child's psychology.

4. About one-third of children with allergic rhinitis have asthma, and another one-third to one-half have airway hyperresponsiveness. Children with airway hyperresponsiveness are prone to bronchospasm and wheezing attacks when they encounter cold air or allergens. These repeated attacks can easily affect children's lung function.

What precautions should children take to prevent allergic rhinitis!

1. Encourage breastfeeding, which can improve the child's immunity and reduce the incidence of rhinitis caused by some respiratory infectious diseases;

2. Observe what things in life may cause allergic symptoms in children, and then avoid contact with these allergens. This mainly refers to inhaled allergens and food-borne allergens.

3. Encourage children to exercise more, such as swimming more. For older children, parents are encouraged to wash their faces with cold water in the summer, so that children can gradually improve their ability to adapt to cold water and cold air, and reduce the onset of symptoms caused by the stimulation of cold air.

4. During the peak season of epidemics, use sea salt water or saline to clean the child's nasal cavity.

Use sea salt water to clean the nasal cavity, which can wash away some pathogens and allergens adhering to the nasal mucosa, reducing the stimulation of allergens and causing recurrence of allergic symptoms;

Secondly, washing the nose with sea salt water can keep the nasal cavity moisturized and avoid nosebleeds caused by dry and cracked nasal mucosa. At the same time, repeated cleaning can promote the repair of damaged nasal mucosa, restore the swinging function of the cilia on the nasal mucosa, and help improve the immune resistance of the nasal mucosa.