If you have to do yard work during pollen season, wear an N95 mask. Ragweed counts usually peak in early midday, grass pollen in late afternoon and early evening. Limit your outdoor activities when pollen counts are high.Three strategies are available: avoiding triggers, using medications to reduce symptoms, and getting immunotherapy ("allergy shots").Īvoiding triggers. Here are the steps to take for seasonal rhinitis: If it is important to identify specific allergic triggers, allergists can perform skin tests the so-called RAST blood test can also help pin down the culprits. In complicated cases, an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialist can check for polyps and other nasal abnormalities. Most people with allergic rhinitis can diagnose the problem themselves simply by recognizing typical symptoms. Some patients have nasal polyps, a deviated nasal septum, or sinusitis. Other allergy-related disorders such as eczema may also be present. Asthma, eczema, and sinusitisīetween 20% and 40% of patients with allergic rhinitis also have asthma. Typical symptoms extend beyond the nose to include an itchy or sore throat and itchy, burning, watery eyes that may look red due to allergic conjunctivitis. Sneezing is nearly as common, and a post-nasal drip can trigger coughing. Nearly everyone with allergic rhinitis complains of an itchy, stuffy, runny nose. It's rhinitis medicamentosa, irritation of the nasal membranes caused by overuse of decongestant nasal sprays such as phenylephrine and oxymetazoline that some people use for quick relief of allergic rhinitis. Inflammation is absent in non-allergic rhinitis, and the symptoms are limited to a runny, stuffy nose.Ī final category of rhinitis can be particularly tricky. In some people, exercise, eating, and exposure to cold or dry air, air pollutants, or strong smells can trigger rhinitis. Examples include viral rhinitis (the common cold) drug-induced rhinitis (possible culprits include Viagra and the other ED pills, the alpha blockers used for benign prostatic hyperplasia, the ACE inhibitors and beta blockers used for hypertension, and aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and hormonal rhinitis (including the "pregnant nose" experienced by some women). Rhinitis can also occur without allergies. But if your symptoms occur year-round (perennial allergic rhinitis), you are probably allergic to indoor allergens such as dust mites, mold, or animal dander. If your symptoms occur in the spring, you are probably allergic to tree pollen in the summer, grass and weed pollens are the likely culprits in the late summer and fall, ragweed is the most likely cause. Seasonal allergic rhinitis comes and goes as various plants come into bloom. Types of rhinitisĪllergic rhinitis is the most common. Just like that, you've developed some of the symptoms of allergic rhinitis - and some of your nose's normal functions have been compromised. Blood vessels swell, causing nasal congestion, and mucus production soars, creating a runny nose. Immune system mast cells in the nasal tissue release chemicals such as histamine and leukotrienes. If you have allergies and your nose traps pollen or other particles to which you are sensitive, an inflammatory process starts right in your nose. Finally, the nose traps small particles, keeping them out of the lungs. It also warms the air, with help from a large network of blood vessels. Your nose adds moisture, but to do that, it must produce large amounts of mucus. Your nose has the job of conditioning that air before it reaches the sensitive tissue of your lungs. When your nasal passages are functioning normally, about five to eight quarts of air pass through them each minute. Smell can also warn us of dangers ranging from toxic fumes and smoky fires to spoiled food.Īllergic rhinitis can blunt the sense of smell, and it can also interfere with the other important functions of the nose. Because smell contributes importantly to taste, it plays a central role in maintaining good nutrition. It's true, of course, that the nose is responsible for the sense of smell, but smell means much more than the ability to enjoy pleasing scents. If a man thinks about his nose at all, he's likely to think of it as a simple organ of smell. Fortunately, it's also a problem that responds very well to treatment. Add the fact that it affects about one of every five Americans and drains the economy of billions of dollars each year, and you'll see that it's an important problem indeed. But call it by its proper name, allergic rhinitis, and you'll be on the way to recognizing it as a legitimate medical problem. It's easy to dismiss hay fever as a minor nuisance. If your nose is itching it may be allergic rhinitis
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