As spring comes around, symptoms of hay fever start to emerge – particularly in young children. In fact, 8.4% children under the age of 18 in the U.S. suffer from hay fever according to recent data published in the 2014 National Health Interview Survey. If your child suffers from hay fever, you'll know how insufferable some of the symptoms can be. Your physician may recommend a nasal spray containing the active ingredient fluticasone for your child in order to alleviate these symptoms. In order to make sure that the active ingredient can effectively block the release of natural immune substances that cause the allergic response, take these 3 tips into account.
Remove As Much Mucus as Possible
If there's too much mucus stuck in your child's nose, then there's a good chance that the active ingredients within the nasal spray will get trapped within the mucus. This means that the active ingredients will not be able to get through the nose to its intended location, which also means that the effectiveness of the spray will decrease significantly. If there's simply too much mucus, consider suctioning the mucus out with a fully compressed suction bulb before administrating the nasal spray.
You'll want to hold the tip of the bulb between your middle finger and your index finger with the bulb touching the palm of your hands. Use your thumb to push out as much air as possible. Then, slowly and carefully insert the tip of the suction bulb into your child's nose and slowly release your thumb from the bulb in order to remove as much mucus from your child's nose as possible. Once the mucus is removed, administer the nasal spray as soon as possible.
Avoid Contamination Spread by the Nasal Spray Applicator
The strong allergic response is attributed to contact to pollen in the air. This pollen is then trapped in your child's nose and responsible for creating the symptoms that he or she is experiencing. When administering the nasal spray, avoid touching the applicator to the inside of your child's nose as much as possible in order to prevent pollen and other contaminants causing the allergic reaction to get smeared onto the applicator. If you administer the nasal spray to the other nostril, contaminants can get easily transferred from one side to the other.
On top of making sure that the applicator does not come in contact with the inner surface of the nostril, you should also consider wiping the applicator with a clean tissue after each and every use. Make sure to cover the applicator with the dust cover as well.
Have Your Child Stay Put for the Next Several Minutes
After the nasal spray has been administered, stay with your child for some time in order to make sure that he or she does not sniff or blow his or her nose. Remind your child to stay put instead of moving around in order to make sure that the active ingredients in the nasal spray are able to find their way to the inner surface of the nostril. This is to allow the active ingredient time to work its magic.
If your child sneezes or blows his or her nose before the nasal spray can work its magic, you might have to administer the nasal spray again. Wait awhile to see if the active ingredients had time to work its wonders first.
Conclusion
While prescribed nasal spray can help alleviate some of the worst symptoms of hay fever, the effects are temporary and not permanent. If your child is suffering from severe hay fever symptoms, you might want to consider talking to allergist regarding whether immunotherapy may be a possible long-term solution for your child.
