Hay fever in children

The most important things in brief

• One of the disadvantages of our civilization is that some people are allergic to a few things, including bee pollen.
• In Switzerland, about every fifth inhabitant is affected by hay fever.
• And children are not immune to this allergic reaction either.
• Read also some tips on how you can help your child with acute symptoms and what immunotherapy can do.

In Switzerland and throughout Central Europe, hay fever is the allergy that is most widespread. Many of those affected already show reactions when it is actually still winter. If your child seems to catch colds unusually often, have the pediatrician do an allergy test to be on the safe side. Although children are not affected quite as often as adults, if they are, they often suffer even more severely from the symptoms.

How does hay fever manifest itself in children?

In fact, at a very young age, around the age of 2 or 3, children rarely suffer from pollen allergies. However, you should not rule out this disease, even if the risk of young people being allergic to pollen only increases with age. But it's better to be a little too careful than too careless; take your child to the doctor if you see any of the following reactions.

Children with hay fever sneeze more often than those with a cold, and have a runny nose rather than a stuffy nose. Alarm signals that you should pay attention to are the eyes: if they burn, water and itch and are more or less red, then this also indicates a pollen allergy. Shortness of breath can also be the result of a hay fever reaction in children, as well as coughing, a sore throat and excessive tiredness due to sleep disorders, which also occur with a pollen allergy.

Hyposensitization is recommended for children

Hay fever in children before the age of seven is still very rare, but after that the risk increases. Among young children, boys are affected more often than girls. But it doesn't matter how old your child is: After the diagnosis of "hay fever" you should definitely consider immunotherapy. Children are given the pollen regularly by syringe for at least three years.

This should cause the organism to get used to the pollen that triggers the allergy. In the medium and long term, this aims to prevent an immune reaction when the mucous membranes come into contact with pollen. This method, also known as desensitization, is particularly valuable once the doctors have found out which types of pollen your child reacts to with hay fever.

Always have children treat hay fever

Drops for the nose and eyes, tablets or nasal sprays are always recommended for acute treatment. Avoid drafts in your home by keeping windows closed - and don't send your child outside unless absolutely necessary.

It is imperative that your child has immunotherapy for hay fever, or at least treats the symptoms with antihistamines or corticosteroids - pills, eye drops, nasal spray, etc. If the allergic reaction is left untreated, there is a risk that the upper airways will be permanently irritated and this disorder will spread to the bronchi. About three out of ten people with a hay fever allergy who refuse treatment will develop asthma over time. So take your child's hay fever seriously and take countermeasures.