When your daughter struggles with seasonal allergies, you can help her in a variety of ways. Seasonal allergies tend to occur in the late spring or early autumn when many plants are beginning to bloom or decay. Seasonal allergies can lead to obvious symptoms such as a runny nose or chronic sneezing, but your daughter may have other problems, including restless sleep because it is difficult to breathe with congested sinuses. Here are several ways to help your daughter when she has a flare-up from her seasonal allergies.
Keep Your Child’s Bedroom Clean
You can prevent seasonal allergy symptoms by keeping your child’s bedroom extremely clean. Most allergy symptoms occur in the morning, so when you dust and vacuum a child’s bedroom frequently, there is less dust and pollen on the surfaces. To make it easier to keep a bedroom clean, avoid having too much clutter that can collect debris. In addition, put special covers on your child’s mattress, box springs and pillow to keep allergens from embedding in the fibers of these items.
Don’t Open the Windows in Your Home
To avoid having a house that is filled with the pollen from plants, keep your home’s windows closed year-round. Make sure to add caulking around the windows to keep contaminated air from entering. Change the filters on your home’s furnace and air conditioner once a month. You can also install an air purifier on your home’s climate-control equipment to capture small particles of dust and pollen.
Teach Your Child to Perform Nasal Irrigation
If your son is old enough, then you can teach him how to irrigate his sinuses to rinse away pollen and dust. Nasal irrigation involves using clean water that is poured or squirted into the sinus passages. Learning how to irrigate the sinuses requires some practice in order to perform it correctly, but it can also rinse away a buildup of mucus that leads to frequent sneezing or congestion.
Provide Plenty of Drinking Water
When your son has congestion from his seasonal allergies, drinking a lot of water will help to release the mucus. Drinking pure water is the best way to eliminate the congestion that leads to sinus pressure or sneezing, but fruit and vegetable juices are also helpful. Encourage your son to carry a bottle of water with him to school and other activities so that he will remain hydrated.
Visit an Urgent Care Facility
If your child develops a fever, severe headache or nausea from seasonal allergies, then visit an urgent care facility like Premier Urgent Care Centers of California, Inc. or another facility that offers 24-hour services. There is no reason for your child to suffer from a seasonal allergy while waiting for an appointment with his regular pediatrician because urgent care clinics accept walk-in patients.
When the pollen count is high in your region, have your son or daughter stay inside as much as possible to prevent exposure to seasonal allergens. This may not always be in the spring, so you should be sure to monitor whatever allergens your child is sensitive too. Work with your primary care provider to see if there is an allergy medication that could be right for your child. Whatever you do, remember to support and encourage them so they can enjoy the great outdoors as much as any other child.
