Diagnostics of hay fever in children

The diagnosis of hay fever can be made using several examination methods. The simplest method is to ask a physician about typical symptoms in the context of an allergy, with particular attention being paid to possible triggers of the symptoms in their temporal relationship to contact with environmental substances. In order to confirm the suspected diagnosis, a physical examination of the affected person follows.

Here the focus is on the inspection of the nasal mucous membranes, the throat and the conjunctiva of the eyes in addition to listening to the lungs. In addition, the skin is examined for abnormalities. If all symptoms still indicate an allergic cause, the IgE can be determined in a blood sample.

An increased value indicates the presence of an allergy. If you want to find out which specific pollen you are allergic to, a prick test can be performed. This involves applying various allergens to the patient’s skin on the forearm and observing the body’s reaction to them under controlled conditions.

How can you detect hay fever yourself?

Often a hay fever can be diagnosed by yourself. For this, the person affected only needs to observe himself well. If he always gets typical symptoms of an allergy such as sneezing, itching in the nose or watery eyes when moving around in the wild, this can be very suspicious.

Because characteristic for an allergy is the temporal connection between the occurrence of the symptoms and the environment with the respective environmental substances. It is also helpful to avoid the suspicious environmental substance as much as possible for a while and to observe whether the symptoms subside. It is much easier to ask family members about known allergies. For example, if one parent suffers from hay fever, it is obvious that the allergy is inherited.

Associated symptoms of hay fever in children

The symptoms of hay fever are similar to those of a very common cold. Those affected have to sneeze more often and feel a tingling in the nose more often. These symptoms are usually accompanied by a scratchy feeling in the mouth and throat area.

This is caused by the inflammatory reaction that is triggered in the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract. Inhalation causes the pollen to stick to the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, where it meets the body’s own immune cells.In contrast to a simple cold, hay fever often causes symptoms in the eyes. The eyes often water or itch and the conjunctiva is reddened and swollen.

Much more difficult to determine in some cases is the more sensitive reaction to other environmental substances compared to before. In concrete terms, this means that the person can react more sensitively to cigarette smoke, dust, perfume or changes in the weather. In severe cases, the symptoms can even trigger an asthma attack or lead to respiratory distress.

Coughing with hay fever is a common combination. The cough can be explained by the inflammatory irritation of the respiratory tract. Hay fever mainly affects the upper respiratory tract, but can also involve the lower respiratory tract.

Depending on how deep the pollen is carried by the breath, it triggers an inflammatory reaction after attaching to the mucous membrane. As the mucous membranes are well moistened, most pollen is already caught in the nose area. If they nevertheless reach deeper into the airways, this explains an irritation below the throat. But also an expanding inflammatory reaction at the transition of the throat can lead to a coughing irritation.