(HealthDay News) -- Coughs and sniffles are common among little ones. But if symptoms persist, especially at the same time each year, the child may actually have an allergy.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says warning signs of child allergies include:

• Persistent cold-like symptoms that last longer than one to two weeks, or tend to strike at the same time each year.
• Frequent red, itchy, and often scaly rashes in the creases of the elbows or knees can also signal an allergy.
• Gagging, wheezing, vomiting, abdominal pain, coughing, hives or swelling that tend to occur after eating a particular food can signal a food allergy.
• Chronic coughing, wheezing or tightness in the chest could actually signal asthma.