House Dust Mite Allergy in Children: At What Age to Start and How to Adapt Your Home

Allergy symptoms in children are more subtle

Unlike adults, children often cannot explain that their nose itches. More common signs are rubbing the nose, rubbing the eyes, throat clearing, breathing through the mouth, snoring during sleep, sneezing repeatedly in the morning, and repeated night-time coughing. Long-term nasal blockage can also affect sleep quality and daytime attention, and is easily mistaken for "poor concentration" or a "weak constitution".

Adapting the home can start in infancy

• Keep soft toys, thick cot bumpers and multiple layers of bedding out of the cot as much as possible
• Wash bed sheets and covers in hot water every week, and tumble dry on a hot setting if you can
• Keep the bedroom ventilated and keep humidity at around 50%
• Do not smoke indoors, and avoid irritating smells such as perfume and scented products

These steps do not cost much, and they benefit the breathing health of the whole family.

When to see a doctor

If your child's symptoms last more than two weeks, repeatedly affect sleep, or come with wheezing, shortness of breath after activity, or repeated eczema, it is best to see a paediatrician or the allergy department. The doctor will use the history to decide whether allergen testing is needed and how to intervene. Whether to use medicine, and which type, needs a doctor's assessment. Parents should not give children adult medicines long term based on their own experience.

This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Please follow your doctor's instructions.