Allergic rhinitis is a common condition; about 25% of the population is thought to have its characteristic symptoms. Sneezing
What is allergic rhinitis?
Allergic rhinitis is a common condition; about 25% of the population is thought to have its characteristic symptoms. Sneezing, a running nose, a blocked nose and an itching nose are often treated lightly, taken for an ordinary cold or ignored altogether.
Apparently harmless, this condition carries, if left untreated, the risk of bringing others with it - asthma, chronic sinusitis, nasal polyposis. Persistent rhinitis symptoms markedly affect the quality of life, impairing concentration at school or at work, social and family life, and the quality of sleep.
How do I recognise allergic rhinitis?
Seasonal allergic rhinitis, brought on by exposure to pollen, adds to the nasal symptoms described above the conjunctival ones - red, itching, watering eyes.
A persistent cough, wheezing or difficulty breathing, appearing alongside the nasal and eye symptoms, raises the question of asthma developing
How is it diagnosed?
Seasonal allergic rhinitis can begin in early spring - March - and last into the autumn months of September and October. The diagnosis is established by prick skin testing for environmental allergens, which gives a quick, conclusive answer and is carried out by the allergist, in a room equipped with the testing kit.
How do we treat allergic rhinitis?
Once the sensitisation is established, symptomatic treatment is recommended to match the severity of the disease, consisting of anti-inflammatory medication given intranasally, antihistamine tablets and eye drops.
Treatment of this kind acts solely on the symptoms, not on the cause of the disease.
When it is stopped, the symptoms most often return.
The only treatment that acts on the cause of the disease is allergen-specific immunotherapy - vaccination - which can change the natural course of the disease and prevent its complications.