Allergic Rhinitis Part 2

Continuation from first part of the interview...

12 year old kid in the USA was reported sneezing up to 20 times in 1 minute. Of course this is a special situation that does not happen to the majority. Commonly seen are cases where suddenly office personnel experienced flu like symptoms once he steps into the office where temperature is lower. According to Dr Leong, sudden fluctuations of the temperatures will affect those who have an allergic nose, especially during seasonal changes.

Allergic rhinitis is a condition where your immune system overreacts to particles in the air that you breathe. It is considered severe when the patient experience allergic rhinitis symptoms every week more than 4 times continuously for a month. It is important for treatment as conditions may relate and adversely affect sleep and daily life.

Layman terms "Sinus" is usually referring to allergic rhinitis and is different from sinusitis. However, in human anatomy, sinus is actually a connected system of hollow cavities in the skull. Mrs Yen, a patient with chronic sinusitis had enquired if there are any side effects for long-term usage of nasal sprays. Dr Leong explained that there are two types of nasal sprays:
- Bought over the counter -- Temporary usage only, 5-7 days
- Prescribed by doctors -- Steroid sprays, containing low dosage of steroids. Will not affect health or child's growth as the dosage is sufficient to treat the nose condition only.

Dr Leong shared that the only way to treat allergy rhinitis is through immunotherapy, which is to build immunity to the allergen causing the reaction. Sublingual Immunotherapy is one method of allergy treatment that uses an allergen solution given under the tongue, which over the course of treatment, reduces sensitivity to allergens. Dustmites are the most common allergens and typically, this type of dust mites called Blomia Tropicalis thrives the best in South East Asia's tropical weather. Patients are allergic to dust mites' faeces which is high protein content. Therefore, the traditional way of sunning the blankets helps as heat will help in breaking down protein, in this case, dust mites' faeces.

In general, Dr Leong advised for patients to seek treatment for Allergic Rhinitis conditions if it affects daily health. If treatment doesn't work, the patients' condition may include other underlying problems and should seek the appropriate treatment options with the ENT specialist.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Allergy
• Nose
• Sneeze
• Sinusitis
• Allergic Rhinitis