Can you be allergic to school? Many children may feel like they are allergic to school — however, there’s a chance that your child actually is. If school makes your child feel ill, don’t simply discount it as back-to-school-blues. The classroom is a new environment, with new allergens and irritants. These can cause new symptoms – or familiar ones – such as sneezing, runny nose and nasal congestion, eye irritation, headaches. These symptoms can lead to irritability, exhaustion, and trouble concentrating.

Some allergens commonly found at school include:

• chalk dust
• dust mites
• animal dander and allergens from classroom pets
• irritants and by-products from new construction – dust, odors, and the chemicals in new carpeting and flooring
• air fresheners, colognes and perfumes, and other artificial scents

You do your best to make your home clean and allergy-free, but you have less control over the school environment. So what can you do? First, you have to think like a detective, asking questions and paying attention to triggers – carefully evaluate what could be causing your child’s symptoms. Second, make a plan. Anticipate that there will be new allergens present, and talk with your child about ways to avoid them. Here are a few tips for parents, children, and teachers, for a healthy and allergy-free school year.

What parents and children can do to avoid school allergy symptoms:

• If you suspect that your child is allergic to something at school, try taking a tour of their school and class room. The offending allergen might be hard to identify, but easy to spot once you’re there.
• Visit an allergist or immunologist if you haven’t already. They can advise you on appropriate medication, immunotherapy, and prevention techniques.
• Ask your child about classroom pets. Hamsters and gerbils can cause allergy symptoms too.
• If your child comes home from school with nasal congestion, make sure their symptoms are alleviated before bedtime. A stuffy nose can keep your child from sleeping properly, hindering their performance in school the next day.
• When playing outside at school, children should avoid fields and weeds, which may harbor large amounts of pollen, particularly during the fall ragweed season.
• Talk to teachers about what they can do to help. Communicating your concerns and some ideas for a more allergy-free classroom may help your child, and his or her classmates as well. Maintain a supportive, communicative relationship with your child’s teacher.

What teachers can do to avoid school allergy symptoms:

• Make sure that dust does not accumulate in the classroom.
• Keep classroom windows closed, since pollen can come in from the outside.
• Chalk dust can trigger allergies or irritate symptoms. If you use a chalkboard, allergic children should not sit in the front row.
• Choose your classroom pet carefully. Consider an aquarium or a reptile.
• If you have a chemically sensitive child in your class, choose craft projects that don’t use known irritants.
• For pre-schoolers who sometimes take naps at school, any pillows provided should have allergy-proof dust mite encasings.
• Cleaning with harsh chemical solutions should be done after hours or at night, when no children are in the classroom. The cleaning services schools rely on should maintain safe, hygienic learning environments.
• Speak to your school administrator about purchasing a classroom air purifier. It will help everyone breathe better.