Can Chiropractic Care Help Alleviate Child Allergies?
Parents watching their children suffer from seasonal allergies know it’s never “just allergies.” The constant sneezing, coughing, runny nose, and itchy eyes—combined with fatigue and irritability from both symptoms and medications—can significantly impact a child’s quality of life.
Nearly one in five children experience seasonal allergies, preventing them from fully engaging in childhood activities and outdoor play. But can chiropractic care help? Here’s everything you need to know.
What Are Seasonal Allergies? How Do They Connect to the Spine?
While many healthcare approaches focus solely on managing allergy symptoms or eliminating triggers, they often miss a fundamental connection: the role of the nervous system in allergic responses.
When a child’s nervous system becomes dysregulated and stuck in “sympathetic overdrive,” it keeps their immune system hypersensitive and in a constant pro-inflammatory state. This explains why some children develop severe allergic responses while others remain unaffected by the same environmental triggers.
This understanding shifts our perspective from viewing allergies as simply an overreaction to external allergens to recognizing them as a sign of internal nervous system imbalance.
Several early-life factors can also contribute to the development of allergies. The overuse of antibiotics in the first two years of life has been linked to increased allergy risk through:
- Disruption of the gut microbiome, where 70-80% of immune cells reside
- Alteration of the balance between different types of immune responses
- Creation of persistent inflammation patterns
These early interventions, though sometimes necessary, can have lasting effects on how a child’s body responds to environmental triggers.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help
When it comes to allergies, the real problem isn’t always the pollen, dust, or pet dander—it’s how your body reacts to those things. A healthy nervous system helps your body respond appropriately to the world around you. But when the nervous system is out of balance, it can trigger exaggerated immune responses, turning harmless substances into major irritants.
This kind of nervous system imbalance can lead to issues like poor drainage in the ears, nose, and throat, an overactive immune system, and difficulty shifting between “on edge” (fight-or-flight) and relaxed states. When the body stays stuck in stress mode, it’s more reactive and less able to recover.
And this is where chiropractic care can make a big difference. Neurologically-focused chiropractic adjustments aim to reduce interference in the nervous system, helping the body shift out of stress mode and into a more balanced, calm state. This improves communication between the brain and immune system, supports better drainage, and allows your body to respond more appropriately to the environment.
For many people, this approach leads to more lasting relief—without relying solely on medications that can come with unwanted side effects. Families often report that regular chiropractic care not only helps reduce allergy symptoms but also supports overall health and well-being.
Book Your Appointment Today!
Your child’s health is undeniably important. At Highest Health Chiropractic, we’re here to support you and your family, ensuring you and your child get the best care available. Your Sioux Falls Chiropractor is ready to help; book your appointment with us today! Let’s work toward making that sneezing and sniffling a thing of the past.
