Seasonal Allergies in Children: Can They Affect School Performance

Does you child suffer from seasonal allergies? Allergic rhinitis is an extremely common condition that affects both children and adults. It’s estimated that up to ten percent of the population suffer from allergic rhinitis symptoms in some form with children being particularly prone to symptoms. Up until now, the sneezing, runny nose, and other common symptoms of seasonal allergies in children have been thought to be more of a nuisance than anything else. If the results of a recent study hold true, this perspective may be changing.

Researchers in the United Kingdom recently looked at the effect that seasonal allergies in children might have on overall school performance .The results of this study were published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in August of 2007. The researchers looked at test scores for math, science, English exams among 1834 students. The tests were taken in the winter when seasonal allergies in children would not be active and repeated in the summer during the peak of allergy season. Students who dropped at least one grade on these exams between winter and summer were found to be more likely to have experienced symptoms of allergic rhinitis compared to students who maintained or improved their exam scores. Children who exhibited symptoms of allergic rhinitis were forty percent more likely to have dropped at least a grade on the exams. In addition, children taking medications to relieve allergy symptoms were up to seventy percent more likely to have dropped at least a grade on the tests. This was considered evidence by the researchers that seasonal allergies in children can negatively affect test scores.

This study suggests that not only can seasonal allergies in children affect their test scores and school performance, the medications used to control the symptoms may further contribute to the problem. This isn’t surprising since some antihistamines used to treat allergic rhinitis can be sedating. Another way in which allergies may alter a child’s school performance is by interrupting their normal sleep patterns. When a nationwide survey was performed of more than 1,000 parents whose children suffered from seasonal allergies, three quarters of them said their children felt tired during allergy season and over a third reported that allergy symptoms interfered with their children’s sleep patterns. More than two thirds of the surveyed parents reported that their children’s school performance suffered during allergy season. The results of this survey were published at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

If you’re the parent of a child who has allergic rhinitis, what are your options? It’s important to take seasonal allergies in children seriously. Instead of medicating your child with over the counter allergy medications that may cause drowsiness, consider having your child evaluated by an allergist who can recommend therapy that will not only help alleviate the symptoms but also be less likely to cause drowsiness. Fortunately, there are effective prescription treatments that can give your child relief and help him to function better during school hours.