ISLAMABAD, March 17: In the isolation ward of the Children Hospital at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), three-month-old Asim Ali goes through nebulisation daily.

Though breathing-related problems among allergy patients aggravate with the onset of pollen allergy season, infants suffering from such abnormalities become the worst sufferers.

“After a few days of his birth, I observed that Asim was wheezing,” his mother Amna Bibi told Dawn. “I was informed by the paediatrician that bronchioles of Asim were squeezed and he had breathing problems and needed nebulisation after every six hours.”

Nebulisation is the administration of drugs in aerosol form directly into the respiratory tract.

Observed by a nurse and lying on the bed, Asim is nebulised for eight to 10 minutes.

“Pollen allergy season is here and my child has been facing difficulty in breathing because of allergic bronchospasm,” said Amana. Bronchial spasm is a sudden constriction of muscles in the walls of the bronchioles.

It causes difficulty in breathing which can be very mild to severe.

Amna Bibi said doctors had advised her to admit the child to the hospital for nebulisation which was a major treatment for the child.

“Children often face great trouble in breathing and sometimes it is a born disease and often caused by allergies which can also be seasonal,” Dr Shehzad Munir, a senior paediatrician at the Children Hospital, told Dawn.

He said nebuliser machines were commonly used for treatment of patients suffering from respiratory problems. Dr Shehzad said patients, be it infants or adults, who faced difficulty in using asthma inhalers were given nebulisation. He said inhalational bronchodilators and steroid liquids were used in the nebulisation procedures.

He said allergens in the air, viral infections and bacterial infections can all lead to wheezing which may require such treatment for the infants.

“In this particular season, the parents of small children should be especially aware of early recognition of allergic bronchospasmic illnesses which can turn serious in no time.”

He said pollen allergy was also one of the causes which affected the children and increased breathing trouble for them. “The pollen allergy season is here and it has increased the load at the isolation ward twofold,” added Dr Shehzad.

An admin official at the hospital said they were providing nebulisation to around 12 to 15 infants daily. “The load has increased during the ongoing allergy season,” he said.

He said they had three machines at the OPD (isolation ward) besides another at the emergency ward of the hospital. The official said patient load was increasing but they were managing it.

However, he said parents can also purchase the nebulisation machine from any drug store and utilise it at home.

It may be noted that this year pollen allergy season started late because of the prolonged winter. Historically speaking, the middle of March has always had high pollen count. Experts say during the current year the pollen season will be very short and will end by end of April.