Itchy! Itchy! Itchy! Itchy nose, itchy eyes, itchy skin... Many children are troubled by various "itches", resulting in rubbing their eyes, sneezing, sleepiness, and decreased concentration during class, which ultimately affects their academic performance. After careful parents took the children to the hospital for examination, they found that the culprit turned out to be - dust mites!
Dust mites, invisible to our naked eyes, although their bodies are small, they are very harmful! Human inhalation of dust mites feces particles, molts, corpse fragments, etc. can trigger immediate allergic reactions, the prevalence of allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis and asthma has been increasing, in these patients, about 40%-85% are allergic to dust mites! If dust mite allergic rhinitis develops in infancy and early childhood, asthma may develop in the future.
Symptoms of dust mite allergy occur throughout the year, and symptoms are more likely to appear when you sleep at night and wake up early in the morning, as dust mites often inhabit pillows, bedspreads, mattresses, and blankets.
Common dust mite allergy symptoms
Common dust mite allergy symptoms include:
Nasal congestion, sneezing, runny nose
Itchy eyes, nose or throat, itchy skin
Postnasal drip, cough
Drowsiness, malaise
Sleep disturbances caused by coughing or wheezing
If the child has these symptoms, parents can take the child to the hospital, and the doctor will test for allergens according to the current symptoms, past medical history of allergic manifestations, family environment, etc. Tongji Hospital currently carried out serum allergen-specific IgE detection, its advantages are safe, good specificity, immediate investigation, no need to stop the drug, and no risk, will not cause asthma exacerbation, especially suitable for children or severe symptoms, asthma acute exacerbations or unwilling to do skin prick test (skin prick test will be painful, some severe allergies may also appear anaphylactic shock and even life-threatening), clinically common inhalation allergens (including dust mites, etc.) and food allergens can be detected in our hospital.
The picture shows the allergen test reports of two pediatric children in our hospital (qualitative and quantitative detection of IgE antibody, respectively)
After being diagnosed with dust mite allergy, on the one hand, it is necessary to pay attention to cleaning the living environment and clothing, towels, sofas, quilt covers, etc.; On the other hand, drug treatment can be used according to symptoms: such as oral antihistamines, local nasal spray hormones for rhinitis, and long-term standardized use of inhaled corticosteroids for asthma; There are also some children who can use dust mite desensitization treatment: including subcutaneous desensitization and sublingual desensitization therapy, parents and friends are welcome to visit and consult the pediatric department on the second floor of Tongjimen Emergency Department.
Children's Asthma Clinic of Tongji Hospital: 8:00-11:30 am every Wednesday
Graphic | Pediatrics Yan Zi
Edit | Zhao Sisi Wang Beimo
Proofreading | Xie Zhuangli