Children sleeping with stuffed toys, furry pets at risk

 Parents had better not let their children sleep with their favourite stuffed toy or furry pets, advise pulmonologists so that the children are protected from allergic rhinitis.
Rhinitis is a condition in which the inside of the nose becomes swollen or sore, caused by an infection or allergy.

Wide prevalence of allergic rhinitis has been reported among school-going children. A study conducted in Hyderabad on 1,047 school-going children aged between 3 and 15 years reported that 29 per cent of them had allergic rhinitis, a type of inflammation in the nose which occurs due to allergens. Studies suggest that allergic rhinitis might lead to asthma as well. The Hyderabad study reported prevalence of asthma among  9 per cent of the 1,047 children covered by the study.

The International study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC) had reported prevalence of allergic rhinitis in India among 40 per cent children.

Allergy and asthma specialist Dr Suprithi Reddy Chitta says, “Allergic rhinitis is common among children. A major reason for it is the dust mite which dwells on bed sheets, carpets and soft toys. The mites feed on dead skin we shed naturally while sleeping. When children sleep with  stuffed toys, the dead skin they shed gets stuck not just to the bed sheet but also to the stuffed toys. Bed sheets may be washed but the same is not the case with the toys. This is the reason why carpets must be avoided. They accumulate a lot of dead skin, especially when pets are around, and result in mites breeding in large numbers.”

Just washing the bed sheets is not going to help. “If the sheets are just washed, it will not be of much use. To ensure that mites are killed, they need to be soaked in hot water,” says Dr Suprithi.

Dr SA Rafi, a consultant pulmonologist, says, “Pollution is one of the main causes of allergic rhinitis among children as well as adults. In Hyderabad, residential areas close to industrial ares are the hotbeds of allergic rhinitis. Parents should avoid taking children out during peak traffic hours.” Further, a change in weather condition, like a dip in temperature, also causes allergic rhinitis while it is also hereditary in some children.