Allergy to dust mites

I bumped into a mother with her 2 year old son when I was at the ENT clinic for my nosebleed last Tuesday. We chatted a bit and I found out that her son's being having frequent runny nose due to allergy. It then struck me that my little boy could be having an allergy too. Cheeky has been having runny nose and cough every month, since March this year. I was worried as he had been very healthy before that, only falling sick once every 4 months on average. Spoke to the specialist and he suggested that I observe him for a while more and bring him in for an allergy test if his condition doesn't improve.

Three days later, I had to visit the ENT again as my nose was bleeding again. =( Since hubby was at work, I had to drag the cheeky along. I bribed him with a packet of his favourite biscuits so that he'd sit quietly while the doctor checked my nose. Btw, I was diagnosed with sinus infection which led to nosebleed! Doctor prescribed me with 12 days of oral antibiotics and also cauterized the bleeding area to prevent further bleeds.

After I was done, I impulsively decided to do the allergy test. And I am glad I did! If not, I'd not have known that he's allergic to dust mites. Must be his mattress. He's been sleeping on a single bed mattress since he climbed out of his cot in March this year. It's a new one, only a year old, but I guess it's not anti dust mite, like his crib mattress. By the way, he was very co-operative and did not struggle or scream when his skin was pricked with the allergens. The doctor and nurses were very surprised and praised him sky-high =)

We were given an anti-dust mite spray for his mattress and pillows. However, after reading the label, I decided not to use it first due to the chemical content. We just vacuumed his mattress and pillows and also bought an anti dust mite mattress protector. Hopefully, this will help. Here's an extract about dust mites allergy which I found from MayoClinic.com

Dust mite allergy is an immune system reaction to a certain dust mite protein. This reaction triggers inflammation in the lining of the nasal passages (allergic rhinitis), causing sneezing, runny nose and other signs and symptoms associated with hay fever.

Dust mite allergy symptoms caused by inflammation of nasal passages include:

• Sneezing
• Runny nose
• Itchy, red or watery eyes
• Nasal congestion
• Itchy nose, roof of mouth or throat
• Postnasal drip
• Cough
• Facial pressure and pain
• Frequent awakening
• Swollen, blue-colored skin under your eyes
• In a child, frequent upward rubbing of the nose