Symptoms of allergic rhinitis like sneezing, wheezing and sinus congestion can interfere with children's sleep, as well as their sports and studies in school, according to a survey involving more than 1,000 families in the US.
According to researchers, allergic rhinitis affects about 40 million people in the US and the number includes nearly 40 percent of children. Allergic conditions become very severe in spring when flowers from plants and trees fill the air with pollens that trigger immune responses. The study showed that severe allergies led to asthma, chronic sinus problems or ear infections.Twenty-nine percent of parents whose children had allergies said their children suffer from disturbed or very little sleep, as compared with 12 percent of parents whose children did not have allergies. Nearly half of the parents surveyed said their children use prescription medicine to treat their allergies.
Dr. Jay Portnoy, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology said, "We have known anecdotally that children are affected by allergy symptoms similar to adults, but Paediatric Allergies in America offers the first data quantifying the scope of how allergies interrupt a child's productivity, sleep cycle and daily functioning."
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, allergies are the most frequently reported chronic condition in children.
ALTANA Pharma US, a unit of Swiss drugmaker Nycomed Co, and Sepracor Inc, which is Nycomed's marketing partner in the US sponsored the survey.
Source-Medindia
THK/K
