My child has sniffly nose every morning when he wakes up. My mother believes that he should not consume chicken meat, as this is a sign that his body is too “cool”. Is there any basis for this? What are the options available to improve my child’s condition?
Dr Stephen Lee, Specialist in Ear, Nose & Throat Surgery, Raffles Hospital
It is very common for children to have a sniffly nose. Causes include nasal allergies, sinusitis, adenoid obstruction and, on rare occasions, foreign body in the nose.
Allergy is extremely common as a reason. Allergy may mean reactions to inhalants like dust mite, pollens, grasses and fungi. It may also be due to food allergies. Although chicken can be the cause, more common causes would be milk or eggs. However, to be certain, and because there are so many foods which may cause allergic reaction, the best way is to test for food allergies. Each person's allergic reaction is specific to himself, and cannot be generalised. Treatment is to avoid the offending allergen. This is harder to achieve in the case of the inhalants, but can be achieved in the case of food allergy.
Sinusitis is the other significant reason for the sniffly nose. It is due to a blockage and subsequent infection of the sinuses in the face. It is usually treated with up to two courses of antibiotics for several weeks. In most cases, this will work. If it still persists, then it may be necessary to help improve the sinus drainage. This can be done by washing the sinuses using a small tube inserted into the cheek sinuses, or in more severe cases, by performing sinus surgery to clean out the blockage to the sinus drainage. This can be safely done with the use of endoscopes. For these children suffering from more severe sinusitis, there is now a new ballon sinuplasty procedure to open up the blocked sinuses. The advantage of this technique is that the healing period is faster and the child returns back to normal activities within 1 to 3 days.