How to Tell If You Have an Allergy
Allergy is an increased or altered reaction to substances that are foreign to the body. Let's examine the symptoms of allergy together.
Diagnosing allergic rhinitis in typical patients is quite easy:
Specialists in this field can often recognize that a patient has allergic rhinitis the moment they see them. This condition presents very typical findings.
ADENOID FACE
These patients have long faces, a narrow upper jaw, and a receded lower jaw; their cheekbones are less pronounced. The mouth is constantly open. The nose is red from being scratched.
ACTIVITY
Patients with allergies, especially children, can hardly sit still and are constantly in motion: they are rarely without a tissue in hand.
THE "ALLERGIC SALUTE"
By pressing the palm against the face and pushing the tip of the nose upward, both the itching of the nose is relieved and brief, easier breathing through the nose is achieved. In those who make this movement for a long time (at least 2 years), a permanent crease forms where the nose curves upward, one that will last a lifetime. In medical terminology, we call this the "supratip crease."
FACIAL DISTORTION
Some patients, in an effort to move the tip of the nose or open one nostril slightly, pull and wrinkle the upper lip and the middle third of the face to one side.
DARK CIRCLES UNDER THE EYES
There are dark circles under the lower eyelids. The cause is blood pooling in the veins around the eyes due to congestion in the nose. In untreated patients, this becomes a permanent, lifelong feature. In some allergic children, there are also crescent-shaped wrinkles in the skin of the lower eyelid.
SILKY, LONG EYELASHES
Eyelashes that are silky, long and irregular are also a characteristic of allergy patients.
RED EYES
The eyes are red, and tear production may also be increased. Discharge (crusting) can accumulate inside or in the corners of the eyelids.
A MOUTH THAT DOESN'T FULLY CLOSE
The mouth is usually slightly open. Cracks can form at the corners of the mouth. The palate has an increased arch. Lower jaw development is limited and recessed. There may also be crooked teeth, and cavities are more common than in healthy children.
NOSE
The area around the nostrils is red and irritated from constant discharge and wiping. Crusting can form inside the nose. The nasal lining (mucosa) is examined with a lighted instrument called a rigid endoscope. A normal nasal lining has a color and moistness resembling freshly cut watermelon. In allergic patients, the color turns paler and bluish. Fiberoptic rhinoscopy can be performed to view the back of the nose and the pharynx, but this examination is not necessary for every patient.
CHILDREN WHOSE HEAD AND SCALP SWEAT AS SOON AS THEY LIE DOWN
One of the most notable features I've observed in the allergic children I've examined so far is that these children's heads, necks and scalps sweat, particularly at night. This sweating usually occurs within the first few hours after the child lies down, and then passes. Mothers say the pillows become soaked, as if with water, and they have to change the pillowcases.
TEETH GRINDING
Studies conducted in recent years show that teeth grinding is three times more common in allergic children. Grinding is more common in those with hay fever, sinusitis, a deviated nasal septum, and nasal polyps. These are usually children who sleep with their mouths open at night, snore, and drool. Ear pain and ear infections are also very common in these children.
It is thought that teeth grinding in allergic children develops as a reflex related to the negative pressure that forms in the middle ear due to swelling in the mucosa of the eustachian tube.
In my next article, I will address the topic of "treatment approaches for allergy."
Hüseyin Nazlıkul
Odatv.com