Christabelle Wong, five, sleeps like a baby now. Ironically, when she was a baby, she snored very loudly. Her parents thought that was normal and she was just tired.

Two years ago, Christabelle began sneezing every day, especially when she was in play school.
 
The little girl would be teary-eyed from sneezing and had to keep wiping away her mucus, recalled her mother, Mrs Anna Wong, an administrative manager in her late 30s.

Medication to control her runny nose only reduced the symptoms of her suspected allergy problem, but her snoring continued.

Her paediatrician, worried that Christabelle’s constant snoring was affecting her air intake, advised her parents to consult an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist.

An X-ray detected larger-than-usual tonsils and adenoids, which are soft tissues at the back of the throat. These, compounded by her allergy problem, obstructed her airways.

The ENT doctor explained that if Christabelle kept having breathing difficulties at night, the inadequate oxygen supply might affect her organs like the brain, liver and kidneys.

Surgery was suggested to remove her tonsils and adenoids. Her apprehensive parents saw another doctor, who said immunotherapy might reduce the allergy problem.

Tests then showed that she was allergic to dust, so an immunotherapy regimen was designed for her. A few allergen-based droplets were put under Christabelle’s tongue each day to
increase the body’s tolerance to the allergen.

After six months of treatment, her snoring was totally eliminated, said Mrs Wong.

Now, the kindergarten pupil has the sniffles no more than twice a month.

The treatment has been reduced to one dose of the allergen a week, with the treatment course scheduled to end next month.

A relieved Mrs Wong, who has an allergic nose problem herself, said she might just consider
going for the same treatment.