One look at that red, raw nose is enough to send parents scrambling to comfort a child with hay fever. Following the doctor’s advice for treating allergies (avoiding allergens and taking appropriate medications) is the all-important first step. The second step is keeping your child comfortable during pollen season.

Teach children to blow their noses

Pollen allergy makes a child’s nose itch and run, but it’s the rubbing and scratching that make it red, raw, and uncomfortable. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), continuous nasal discharge (mucus from a runny nose) irritates a child’s nostrils and upper lip. When the child rubs the irritated skin, it only gets worse. Children with hay fever can learn to be nicer to their noses if you teach them a few simple self-care tips.

• Blow, one nostril at a time. This method is recommended by the American Medical Association. Show your child how to close one nostril with finger pressure, and blow each side of the nose in turn.
• Dab, don’t rub. Dabbing gently with a tissue is kinder to irritated skin, so encourage your child to dry his or her nose without rubbing.
• Carry tissues. It’s the parent’s job to make sure clothes have two pockets - one for fresh tissues and one for used. And choose the softest tissues you can find, since even gentle dabbing can be rough on chafed skin.
• Stay clean. Raw, broken skin is susceptible to secondary infections. Encourage kids to wash their hands often.

Try bathing for allergy relief

Kids pick up pollen outdoors, but a warm bath after outside play will send pollen down the drain instead of aloft inside the house. Reducing pollen exposure is central to hay fever management, according to the AAAAI. Bathing after outdoor play can help keep indoor pollen levels to a minimum.

A warm bath will often comfort a cranky child, and the moist environment seems to ease allergy symptoms. If your child is not already a recreational bather, make a warm bath extra enticing. Provide a few special bath toys, and think beyond boats. Small containers and bottles allow pouring and measuring. Marbles rolled underwater are fascinating for kids old enough to keep them out of the mouth. Spray bottles are a favorite bath toys - but close the shower curtain. It’s best to avoid bubble bath. As bubbles pop, they launch soap into the air, irritating already troubled sinuses.

Tell children hay fever will pass

Adults know that pollen season will end. Children don’t, unless you tell them over and over again. With a child’s sense of time, pollen season can feel like it goes on forever. Unless your child also has perennial allergies (a year round dust mite allergy, for instance) don’t hesitate to remind kids that hay fever really will go away. Make sure you don’t promise an end to symptoms on a specific day. You might plan an outing together for “the day your sniffles go away,” or learn about the allergenic plant’s growing season with an older child. Just looking forward to the day the discomfort of pollen allergy goes away can help brighten a child’s mood.

If you have allergies yourself, you know how miserable hay fever can be. You show your love by making sure your child’s allergies are treated properly and soothing the symptoms that can’t be avoided. Even when hay fever is at its worst, you can make things better simply by offering your child a little extra time for comforting - and a whole lot of understanding.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 23rd, 2007 at 10:23 pm and is filed under Kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.