It isn’t easy to watch your child struggle with the symptoms of allergies. Allergy symptoms can make your child’s life unpleasant for months out of the year, and in some cases, can cause severe or life-threatening reactions if they don’t avoid the allergen.
To help minimize your child’s struggle with allergies, board-certified pediatrician Rainilda Valencia, MD, and our team at Valencia Pediatrics in Victorville, California, recommend working with your child to manage their symptoms.
By providing your child with medications and straightforward management techniques, you can significantly reduce their discomfort and risk of a severe reaction.
Learn more about how you can support your child in managing their allergy symptoms.
Your child has allergies if they have a reaction to a substance that normally doesn’t cause harm to their immune system. Hay fever allergies are seasonal in nature and to substances like pollen, while specific allergies to triggers like pet dander, mold, or specific foods, cause symptoms when your child is exposed to the allergen trigger.
Symptoms of hay fever include a runny nose and watery eyes that last throughout the season, while specific allergy responses can include hives, swelling, wheezing, an upset stomach, and in rarer cases, life-threatening anaphylaxis.
If your child shows symptoms of allergies, Dr. Valencia diagnoses their allergy trigger through testing, if needed, and develops a customized allergy management plan to bring them relief.
If your child is diagnosed with allergies, you can make them more comfortable and safer by helping them with allergy management. Here’s what you can do to support your child.
At your child’s allergy appointment, our team members work to ensure you and your child both understand their allergy treatment plan. We explain your child’s care plan in a way they can understand, as well as the benefits they get from following it correctly.
At home, you can work with your child to remind them of their plan. This empowers your child to get maximum allergy relief at all times, including when they’re at school or otherwise not with you.
When your child is sensitive to a specific allergen, aim to ensure they have limited or no contact with it. This involves removing the allergen from your home and helping your child learn to avoid triggers out on their own, such as not petting a friend’s dog if they’re allergic to pet dander.
It’s also important to work with other places your child goes regularly, including their school, to keep their environment as allergy-free as possible. For example, if your child has a severe nut allergy, see if they can sit at a lunch table that is completely nut free.
If your child takes medication to relieve their allergy symptoms, Dr. Valencia shows them how to take it. You can help your child remember how and when to take their medication and to take it with them when they go to school.
You should also notify your child’s school of their medication, especially if your child’s medication is to stop a life-threatening reaction. This ensures the school can help your child take their medication and is ready to take action if a life-threatening allergic reaction occurs.
Having allergies isn’t fun, but with the right care plan and support, your child can go about their daily routine without experiencing any significant symptoms. For support in managing your child’s allergies, call to make an appointment at Valencia Pediatrics today.
