Child Allergy Symptoms - What Do You Need to Look For?

Allergies cause a wide range of symptoms and effect children in different ways, when your child experiences the symptoms for the first time, you may not actually realise that they have had an allergic reaction, this is because many child allergy symptoms are similar to those of other common childhood infections or conditions.

Typical symptoms

Your child may have just one allergy symptom or several, the symptoms are often similar for different allergic diseases and can change over time. General allergy symptoms include:

A runny nose
Sneezing
A blocked or stuffy nose
Itchy eyes, ears, lips, throat or roof of the mouth
Coughing, especially at night
Wheezing and shortness of breath
Rashes
Tiredness
Redness in the face

Some of these symptoms can be caused by other illnesses too, so it's important to see your GP if you are worried about them.

Hidden symptoms

Sometimes an allergy can cause symptoms that aren't typical, especially in children, making them less easy to spot. These include:

Headaches
Unexplained irritability
Nausea
Itching with no sign of a rash
Digestive upset
Hyperactivity

If your child has any unusual, severe or persistent symptoms, it's important to get them checked out by your GP. They may be signs of an allergy but could also be something completely different, for example, persistent or recurrent diarrhoea may be due to a problem with their digestive system.

Recognising allergic children

There are some physical signs that can alert an allergy doctor to a child with child allergies before they do any allergy tests. These include:

Unhealthy pale complexion, many children with multiple allergies are also small for their age
Allergic shiners, these dark circles under the eyes look like the beginning of a black eye or smudged mascara, or you may just assume your child isn't getting enough sleep. But they are more likely to be due to an increased blood flow near your child's sinuses
Creases under the eyelids., called Dennie-Morgan lines, these are associated with nose-related and chest- related allergies in young children
Allergic or `nasal` salute. Children with a constant runny nose tend to rub their noses upwards with the palm of their hand. This can also lead to a crease across the bridge of the nose
Pulling funny faces. If a child's nose, ears or eyes are itchy, they may twitch or wiggle their face. Some children also sniff constantly
Dry, rough skin. This is particularly common on the checks, upper arms and chest, as well as in the creases of the elbows and behind the knees
Poor attention span. Children with glue ear may have difficulty hearing, which can lead to poor concentration.

Classical allergic diseases

These are the main allergic (atopic) diseases that affect children

Allergic rhinitis affects over 20% of the UK population, according to the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology guidelines for the management of allergic and non-allergic rhinitis.

Symptoms:

A blocked and/ or runny nose
Sneezing
Itching
Streaming eyes
Sometimes asthma

If the symptoms occur throughout the year (called perennial allergic rhinitis) they may be mistaken for a persistent cold. Symptoms that occur in specific seasons are called seasonal allergic rhinitis, or more commonly hay fever; eye symptoms are called allergic conjunctivitis

If you are worried about any child allergy symptoms or that your child may be suffering from child allergies it is always best to get them checked out by your GP even if it is not anything to worry about.