Allergic rhinitis in children should not be ignored

  Winter and spring are the best time of the year to visit the greenery, but for parents with allergic babies, it is also the most worrying season of the year. Baby’s itchy nose, sneezing and runny nose. Many people think it is a “cold”, but anti-cold treatment for several weeks can not completely relieve. When you look for a doctor, it is allergic rhinitis, so what is allergic rhinitis?  In recent years, the incidence of allergic rhinitis is around 20% to 40%, and the trend is increasing year by year. In China, it is conservatively estimated that there are 40 million patients, with children and adolescents being the most common. So why are babies experiencing these uncomfortable symptoms? What are the culprits of allergies? What should parents do to help their babies get rid of allergies?  Allergic rhinitis is mostly related to genetics. According to some scholars, if one of the parents has allergic rhinitis, their children are twice as likely to have allergic rhinitis, and if both parents have allergic rhinitis, their children will have up to 50% of the disease.  There are many allergens, including inhalant, ingestive and contact allergens, with inhalant allergens being the main ones. Inhalant allergens such as pollen, dust mites, dust, fungi, animal fur, feathers, etc.. Food allergens such as milk, eggs, seafood, etc.  Allergic rhinitis has the following four main symptoms: itchy nose, runny nose, sneezing, and nasal congestion, and can be acquired from infants to adults. Despite this, the symptoms of pediatric allergic rhinitis are different from those of adults: pediatric allergic rhinitis is more about itchy nose, runny nose, and nasal congestion (nasal non-ventilation), and sneezing is not as obvious as in adults. Since infants are young, some subjective symptoms such as itchy nose cannot be expressed clearly and accurately, so it depends on parents’ careful observation. For example, when the nose itches, they will show corresponding actions: mainly rubbing the nose, picking the nose, shrugging the nose and so on. For a child with allergic rhinitis, the symptoms may be more or less frequent, and may include only one symptom or several symptoms at the same time, and the symptoms may be mild or severe.  In allergic rhinitis, the nasal mucosa is congested and edematous, the nasal discharge increases, and the child is susceptible to viral and bacterial infections, secondary respiratory infections, chronic cough, acute and chronic sinusitis, etc. Allergic rhinitis often coexists with allergic conjunctivitis, which is manifested by itchy eyes and eye rubbing. Since the essence of allergic rhinitis is caused by allergens, it can be said that allergic rhinitis is the manifestation of allergy in the nose. Skin allergy and eczema are also a kind of allergy. On the surface, it seems that many symptoms of allergy are manifested in a certain part of the body such as skin, nose and eyes, but allergic diseases are systemic and systematic diseases. Children with allergic rhinitis do not only show symptoms in the nose, but if they do not receive timely and standardized treatment, they can easily develop into asthma.  Children with allergic rhinitis can also lead to adenoid hypertrophy, while snoring and, in severe cases, serious complications such as sleep apnea at night can occur. As allergic rhinitis is not effectively controlled, repeated colds and fevers, rhinitis and sinusitis lead to inflammation and edema of the eustachian tube, which can lead to otitis media and hearing loss in children. Repeated respiratory infections, adenoid hypertrophy, sleep apnea, etc. seriously affect the quality of sleep, the relative ischemia and hypoxia of the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular, allergies, etc., which can lead to myocardial damage, but also affect the growth and development of children, school-age children’s academic performance decline. Therefore, in order to be healthy, it is necessary to prevent and treat allergic rhinitis in a timely manner.  The treatment of allergic rhinitis is based on comprehensive treatment, including patient education, allowing parents of affected children to understand this chronic disease, avoiding allergens in daily life after examination of allergens to reduce the onset, symptomatic treatment at the onset, and immunotherapy for suitable children. Avoidance of allergens is the most important of all. Nasal hormones and antihistamines are the first-line drugs used to control symptoms of allergic rhinitis. The suitability of immunotherapy (also called desensitization), i.e., specific treatment with standardized vaccines, can be determined based on allergen reports in children over four years of age.