How to Help a Child With Seasonal Allergies

5 star child care north raleighSpring has almost sprung but with a lot of itchy throats, gallons of watery eyes, and enough sneezes for the big, bad wolf to blow a house down, seasonal allergies have also arrived. It’s estimated that 40% of children suffer from seasonal allergies worldwide. As a parent, you likely dread this time of year due to the mixture of symptoms and crankiness that comes with them.

As 1 in 10 children in the US has seasonal allergies, you want to make sure that you can minimize the symptoms and maximize the fun of springtime. Here are a few tips and tricks to help keep your child congestion free and help you keep your stress levels to a minimum:

Keep Children’s Allergy Antihistamines on Hand

If you aren’t sure what exactly triggers your child’s seasonal allergies, such as grass or pollen, a good start to avoiding them is to always keep allergy medicine with you in case your child’s allergy symptoms appear. This also requires that you be familiar with different kinds of allergy medication and also which ones your child responds to best.

Does your child respond better to pills, eye drops, or nasal sprays? Some of these medications are short-term, several hours, and some have a 24-hour window. You’ll want to make sure to keep track of which medications your child has taken and when they took them. Sometimes the medication can have significant side effects – Benadryl, for example, is often sleep-inducing and could be helpful as naptime approaches.

Keep Your Home Allergen Free

An extra clean home is a great defense against seasonal allergies for your family. It’s not just about keeping a clean home, though, the way that you clean can help keep your child from suffering from symptoms. For example, when dusting use a damp cloth or special dusting wipes – this ensures that dust particles that may contain allergen or pollen don’t get kicked up into the air and breathed in. Vacuuming more than once a week can also help prevent outside allergens building up in your home. Use an air conditioner instead of opening doors and windows, and ensure that the unit has a high-efficiency filter. Wash the sheets once a week in hot water and dry on high, as this can help dispose of dust mites – you can also do this with your child’s stuffed animals.

Keep an Eye on the Pollen Count

You might be able to spot how high the pollen count is when you walk outside to see everything with a yellow hue – not to mention your child sneezing, sniffling, or watery-eyed. This can be made even worse if it’s a particularly windy day, as the wind kicks the pollen up into the air and makes it easier to breathe in. This is why it’s important to keep track of the pollen count each day.

The pollen count is a measure of pollen particles in the air each day and is an indication of how badly you or your child might be affected by seasonal allergies. The higher the count, the more likely your child will start to suffer from symptoms. Make note of the pollen count forecast and the weather forecast and plan outdoor activities accordingly.

Contact Raleigh Child Care Center Primary Beginnings Today

Come out to visit our 5-Star rated child care center today located in North Raleigh by calling either 919-790-6888 for our Spring Forest Road center or 919-785-0303 for our North Hills Drive center. Alternatively, fill out the contact form below.

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