LIKELY TO GIVE THE “ALLERGIC SALUTE” THIS FALL (NAPSA)—Homework and pop quizzes may not be the only reasons some children will feel like staying home whenschoolstarts. plains Dr. Ehrlich, whooffers the following tips for parents on how to identify and treat a child’s allergies: Ask teachers or the school nurse if they’ve noticed any changes in your child’s behavior that may indicate allergies, such as sleepiness in class, irritability, Sneezing, runny noses, watery eyes, itchy throats, and other bothersomeallergy symptomswill dampen the school spirit of thousands of kids—becausefall is not only back-to-school season, it’s also a peak allergy season. “Around September and October, we see tons of kids rubbing their noses upward with the palms of their hands to relieve nasal discomfort. We call it the ‘allergic salute,” says Dr. Paul Ehrlich, a New York City-based pediatric allergist and co-author of “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children’s Allergies and Asthma.” “As kids go back to school, parents need to be alert to this and other signs of allergies; children have enough trouble concentrating in class without having to deal with disruptive allergy symptoms.” Allergies affect up to 40 percent of American children, and cause up to 2 million missed school days each year. Beyond the typical physical manifestations, such as sneezing and runnynoses, there are also behavioral signs indicating that a child may have allergies. These includeirritabil- ity, lack of concentration, and poor school performance. But treating allergies with cer- or excessive sneezing and nose tain medications may cause bothersome side effects such as drowsiness orjitteriness. “Sometimes I wouldn’t treat my stepson Matthew’s allergy symptoms because I was afraid of the medications’ side effects; I didn’t want him to feel groggy or jittery in class,” says Dana Reeve, mother, actress and wife of Christopher Reeve. “That’s why we were so relieved when our doctor recommended CLARITIN for its effective non-drowsy, non-jittery allergy relief—it let Matthew feel like a kid again. Momsare lucky now because they can get it over the counter without a doctor’s prescription.” Be Alert to Symptoms, Treat Early “Parents need to understand the importance of treating their child’s allergy symptomsearly, and the benefits of treatment with a nondrowsy allergy medication,” ex- rubbing. Pay close attention to your child’s symptoms because seasonal allergy symptoms often are mistaken for a commonheadcold. If symptoms last longer than a week to 10 days, your child may haveallergies. * Relieve your child’s allergy symptoms with a “kid-friendly” medicine that he or she will find easy to take—and one that lasts all day and all night. CLARITIN makes effective formulas including a syrup for kids as young as 2 and an instantly-dissolving tablet for kids as young as 6. “As parents, we need to be proactive and makesure our children get off to the best start possible for the new school year,” adds Reeve. “Part of that means managing their allergies and explaining the benefits of treatment, so that they don’t consider taking medicine a chore and can feel like themselves again.” For more tips on how to identify and treat your child’s allergy problems, ask your pharmacist or visit www.claritin.com.
