Educating on Allergies
As summer comes to a close, there is always a lot to be done to get kids ready to go back to school. As children re-integrate with their peers and continue with their lifelong learning, there is a critical role pharmacy teams can play in providing effective health education to help reduce the risk of illness and advance public health.
Providing customers with easy to navigate back-to-school sections in community pharmacy, with relevant point of sale and prominent window displays during August and September, will help remind parents and carers that preparation is key when it comes to the management of back-to-school self-treatable conditions.
In addition, many parents worry about whether they should keep their children at home or send them to school when they are ill. Pharmacy teams should be prepared to ask appropriate questions and offer advice to help them to make that decision. For example, does the child seem well enough to carry out the usual day-to-day activities they would at school, or is their condition serious or contagious enough to be passed on to classmates or teachers? Helping people to make such decisions will add to their self-care skills and knowledge for managing coughs and colds.
Managing Allergies
The sun may still be out, and September historically sees some of our sunniest weather, so children will be out playing sports during school. This increases the risk of not only sports-related injuries but also exposure to allergens.
Nasal allergy in children, if unrecognised or badly managed, can have a significant toll on emotional as well as physical well-being.
Kids allergies can leave sufferers incredibly troubled when it comes to getting through the school day.
Itchy eczematous skin, snuffly and irritable noses and wheezy chests, carry a significant burden of ill health. Dr Paul Carson of the Slievemore Clinic Ireland says, “If the nasal allergy is especially troublesome the child may get intermittent hearing loss. One day he’s bright and alert in class, inter-reacting and co-operating. Next day he seems distant and detached, ignoring questions or not fully grasping what’s going on. The teachers are at a loss to explain these variations in attentiveness and the boy’s parents can’t quite understand the situation either. It’s not uncommon for these children to be labelled ‘difficult’.
“Nasal allergy also provokes intense fatigue. If an affected child is not treated he misses out on ordinary children’s activities and can be isolated and ignored.
“The term Allergic Irritability Syndrome (ARS) has been coined to explain the many unpleasant symptoms and features children with untreated nasal allergy show.”
Children with un-recognised ARS have:
• A significantly impaired quality of life.
• Significant learning difficulties.
• A lower ability to achieve different types of knowledge (factual, conceptual and knowledge application) compared with healthy children.
• May cause impaired hearing if fluid collects in the inner ear (medical term: serous otitis media).
• Nasal blockage and irritation (sneezing, rubbing at the nose to relieve itch); dark circles around the eyes with puffiness of the lower lids.
• Poor concentration; disruptive behaviour and unexplained mood swings.
Below are the common effects of persisting nasal allergy in children.
Nasal Congestion
Sometimes a child’s nose is congested (obstructed) to the point that he or she breathes through the mouth, especially while sleeping.
If the congestion is left untreated this forces air currents through the mouth. The strength of the air changes the way the soft bones of the face grow. The features may become abnormally elongated in a pattern called ‘adenoidal face’. This causes the teeth to come in at an improper angle as well as creating an overbite. Braces or other dental treatments may be necessary to correct these problems.
Nasal allergy and ear infections
Nasal allergy can lead to inflammation in the ear and may cause fluid accumulation which in turn can trigger ear infections and decreased hearing. If this happens when the child is learning to talk, poor speech development may result. Hayfever can also cause earaches and ear itching, popping and fullness (‘stuffed up ears’).
Nasal allergy while at school
Nasal allergy can last throughout the school year. For some kids this means absences due to allergy flares. Here are some of the problems to look out for so that the condition can be properly diagnosed and treated, as well as several suggestions for helping the allergic child.
• Dust irritation: reducing dust in the home will be helpful to most allergic family members. At school, children with allergy problems should sit away from the blackboards to avoid irritation from chalk dust.
• School pets: furry animals in school may cause problems for allergic children. If your child has more problems while at school, it could be the class pet.
• Asthma and physical education: sports are a big part of the school day. Having asthma does not mean eliminating these activities. Often medication administered by using an inhaler is prescribed before exercise to control their symptoms. Children with asthma and other allergic diseases should be able to participate in any sport the child chooses – provided the doctor’s advice is followed.
• Dry air: with the onset of cold weather using a humidifier to accompany forced air heating systems may be helpful in some regions of the country. Adding a small amount of moisture to dry air makes breathing easier for most people. However, care should be taken not to allow the humidity above 40%, which promotes the growth of dust mites and mould.
• Change in behaviour: children cannot always vocalise their annoying or painful symptoms. Their discomfort may manifest as behaviour problems. Be on the alert for possible allergies if your child has bouts of irritability, temper tantrums or decreased ability to concentrate in school. These may be signs of ‘allergic irritability syndrome’ caused by nose and ear symptoms in allergic children. Sometimes allergic children are badly behaved and have short attention spans. Needless to say their schoolwork suffers. When a child’s allergies are properly treated, his symptoms, behaviour and school performance can improve dramatically.
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