Allergic rhinitis: symptoms and treatment, causes

Any allergic rhinitis is a sign of disturbances in the functioning of the immune system. First isolated such a common cold in a separate disease about 100 years ago. This was done by a scientist who himself suffered during the flowering of plants. He was in the winter time near the mown hay and again began to sneeze. At that moment, he suspected that his state of health was a reaction to certain substances in the air. This disease is also called hay fever.

Types of problems

Experts say that there may be two types of allergic rhinitis. Symptoms and treatment are similar. So, some people face only seasonal problems. In this case, allergic rhinitis is due to the appearance of pollen of plants, to which the body reacts. The more its concentration is near a sick person, the more noticeable the manifestations of diseases.

But some suffer from a common cold all year round. In this case, patients react, most likely, to dust, saliva of animals, wool, dust mites, mold fungi or other irritants. Some have a reaction to the so-called professional allergens: paints, solvents, varnishes, cement and other chemicals.

Causes and characteristics of the disease

Experts have long argued that any allergies are problems with the immune system. It produces histamine upon contact with an irritant. This process provokes an allergic rhinitis. The causes of its appearance lie in the hypersensitive reactions of the immediate type, which occur when contact with the stimulus. It is the immune system that begins to fight the inhaled particles and stimulates the appearance of the common cold.

She considers allergens to be foreign substances. The organism, which first collided with them, begins to produce specific antibodies. At subsequent contacts they begin to struggle with the allergens they are familiar with. But at the same time, histamine and other substances that lead to the appearance of symptoms are secreted. Experts call this process sensitization.

Symptoms, as a rule, appear quickly enough: it can pass from several seconds to 20 minutes. They arise because of the reaction of the peripheral and central parts of the nervous system, which give a push to change the nasal mucosa. There is swelling of the tissues, the nasal cavity narrows, breathing is disrupted, the tonus of the vessels of the mucous membrane of this organ changes. In addition, there is an increased secretion of goblet cells, increased secretory function of the glands, the appearance of a large layer of mucus over the cilia of the cylindrical ciliated epithelium.

In addition, a decrease in the absorption capacity of the nasal mucosa is characterized by an allergic rhinitis. Symptoms and treatment of this disease depend on its course and duration. Equally important is the general well-being of a person.

First signs of problems

In contact with allergens, the body works in most cases instantly. Symptoms can disappear on their own in a few days. The maximum period during which rhinitis can last is 10 days. But we must understand that the disease can only pass when there is no contact with the irritating substance. Otherwise, the allergic rhinitis may last long enough. Symptoms of this disease are always pronounced:

- sneezing: appears a few minutes after inhaling the allergen or in the mornings;

- runny nose: secreted mucus is liquid and transparent, but when nasal infection is attached it becomes yellow and viscous;

- discomfort in the nasopharynx, there may be a cough;

- itching in the nose, ears, throat.

Also, eyes often become inflamed, there may be a slight swelling in the face.

People who have never faced such a disease, it seems that all this is not so scary. But an allergic rhinitis can greatly complicate life, because its manifestations affect well-being, appearance, working capacity.

Prevention of disease

Many people suffering from acute reactions of immunity to irritants, never even visited a profile doctor - an allergist. But in vain. A specialist could pick up medications that will ease the condition, and tell you what to do so that the allergic rhinitis does not appear. Prevention (symptoms should not appear yet) is aimed at preventing the development of the disease. The best preventive measure is preventing contact with the allergen. To do this, it is desirable to make samples and to identify what substance you are reacting to.

Prevent the development of the disease or minimize its manifestations can be as follows. We must try not to go out into the fresh air early in the morning, avoid any trips to nature. At home, windows can be veiled with a dense cloth so that the pollen does not have the opportunity to get into the rooms. Also recommend as often as possible to wash the nose and eyes. This will help to clear the mucous membranes from the allergens that have got into them and prevent the onset of the disease, if you know that you can exacerbate an allergic rhinitis. Komarovsky EO claims that this disease also arises as a reaction to the excessive purity and abundance of household chemicals in the home. The best measure of prevention, he considers nasal lavage and maximum contact with potential allergens. He says that before the appearance of the baby in the house, you can even get a dog, it will also help ensure that the child does not have allergies.

But other doctors do not recommend people with hypersensitivity to keep flowers at home and use cosmetics (except for special hypoallergenic series). Observance of the above recommendations may not completely relieve allergies, but it can significantly alleviate your condition.

Symptoms of the disease

If at first the person is only concerned about a runny nose, frequent sneezing and itching, then in time there are other signs, according to which the expert can diagnose an allergic rhinitis. Symptoms that occur with time can be as follows:

- increased photosensitivity;

- sniff, constantly stuffy nose;

Irritability caused by poor health ;

- prostration;

- deterioration of sleep;

- mouth breathing (arises from the constant stuffiness of the nose);

- changed sense of smell;

- problems with hearing, a feeling of pressure in the ears;

- unpleasant sensations in the face;

- allergic bruises - dark circles appearing under the eyes.

The intensity of symptoms during life can vary. At certain moments they can become aggravated, in other periods - practically to come to naught. Often there is an allergic rhinitis during pregnancy. Children are more sensitive to allergens. It happens that when they grow up, they become less receptive. Frequent use of perfumes, work that has strong smells, contact with wood or cigarette smoke only worsen the situation.

If you notice an exacerbation of allergies in the spring-summer period, then, most likely, you have a reaction to pollen. But there are people who are much worse in winter, at a time when most of the time has to be spent indoors. In this situation, allergens should be sought among dust, household mites, animals living in houses, plants on the windowsill.

Action Tactics

If you have a feeling of itching, sneezing and mucous discharge from the nose began, do not try to immediately run to the pharmacy for antihistamine drugs - the cause of the ailment can be quite different. Now let's talk about how to distinguish an allergic rhinitis from a cold. With absolutely identical symptoms, treatment requires different. Catarrhal cold in most cases is accompanied by other symptoms characteristic of acute respiratory diseases. This can be a fever, body aches, coughs, aching pains, a hoarse voice. In addition, with infectious diseases, secretions are often viscous, they are colored yellow or greenish.

If you know what exactly you are allergic to, then in all possible ways minimize contact with the stimulus. With seasonal manifestations of the disease, you need to spend as little time as possible on the street, constantly wash your nose, try to move around by car, bus, minibus, and close windows at home. This is the only way to reduce the manifestations of an allergic rhinitis.

The collection of advice can recommend to ease the condition with the help of antihistamines. Preparations of the first generation can eliminate symptoms, but they have many side effects. They depress the nervous system, weaken attention, provoke a feeling of lethargy and constant fatigue. These include such drugs as Suprastin and Dimedrol. More modern drugs only block histamine receptors and do not affect the general condition. In addition, to achieve the necessary effect, drink a new generation of funds enough once a day. They include medicines "Claritin", "Zirtek", "Aleron" and others. Systemic drugs in the form of tablets, capsules or syrup are usually prescribed in cases where the patient is concerned about several symptoms at a time, and not just an allergic rhinitis.

Prevention and treatment of mucocutaneous discharge from the nose are carried out using local means. If necessary, a novocaine blockade can be made , injecting hydrocortisone into the area of the inferior nasal cavity. But such radical measures are used in extreme cases. Most often with rhinitis of an allergic nature, eye drops and nasal sprays are recommended, which can ease the condition in less than an hour. The allergist can write out such means as "Kromoglin", "Kromosol" - they are used for mild pathology. In more severe cases, corticosteroids are recommended - Nasobek, Nazarel, Nazonex, and Benorin.

Another method of control is the injection of allergens. But such tactics can only be used when the stimulus has been established. Therapy is carried out in the following way: first allergens are introduced into the body in small doses, then its concentration is increased. This is done until there is a tolerance to irritants that cause an allergic rhinitis. Prevention with this approach to treatment you will no longer need, because the body stops responding to the substance that caused the disease.

Seasonal problems

Specialists distinguish several stages of the pathology we are considering. And all of them are accompanied by an allergic rhinitis. Symptoms and treatment will depend on the severity of the manifestations and on what type of diseases it can be attributed.

Seasonal rhinitis is attributed to pollinosis syndromes, in which the mucous membrane of the nose and eye are primarily affected. If the patient has a genetic predisposition to the disease, then his body begins to produce antibodies to stimuli. As a result, there are all known manifestations. They can be expressed both in the form of abundant mucous discharge from the nose, and be combined with conjunctivitis. In severe cases, bronchial asthma may accompany these symptoms. In humans, there are often signs of intoxication: fatigue, irritability, sleep disturbances and even a rise in temperature.

As a rule, an allergic rhinitis develops against the background of general health during the active flowering of plants. In the nose there is a sharp sensation of itching, it is accompanied by multiple sneezing, difficulty breathing and abundant transparent mucous secretions. In most people, seizures last for a couple of hours and can be repeated several times a day.

At the time of an attack, the nasal mucosa is saturated with blood, it can become cyanotic, edematous. At the same time, the nasal conchae are enlarged , they cover the passages. Some note also the irritation of other mucous membranes - the larynx and trachea suffer. There is a cough, a viscous sputum is released, there is a hoarse voice.

The exacerbations cease at a time when the active flowering of the plants ends. At inspection in a healthy status of any pathological changes are not present. True, some diagnose a curved nasal septum, mucous polyps, contact spines.

Chronic manifestations

But there are people who can be bothered all year round with an allergic rhinitis. Symptoms and treatment in this case will be somewhat different. This type of allergy differs in that it does not have pronounced exacerbations, it is impossible to track the periodicity. But the symptoms are less pronounced than with seasonal rhinitis.

Chronic allergic rhinitis has 4 conditional stages:

- aperiodic transient attacks;

- continue;

- poly formation;

- Carnivations.

The first stage is characterized by moderate symptoms, there are occasional minor exacerbations. Patients react to hypothermia, drafts, this provokes an exacerbation of the disease. At the same time they periodically have a stuffy nose, a feeling of dryness in the mouth, lethargy, poor sleep, increased fatigue, and sometimes there may be attacks of dyspnea. Also at this stage, the permeability of the cell membranes begins to break. Such an allergic rhinitis during pregnancy is a rather frequent phenomenon.

If the doctor notes that there are signs of degeneration of the nasal mucosa, this means that the situation is deteriorating. This indicates the beginning of the second stage. At the same time, the mucosa becomes pale, a gray tint appears, granular formations that are noticeable at the ends of the middle and lower nasal concha. At this stage, breathing is constantly hampered, the sense of smell is practically nonexistent. The effect of the use of vasoconstrictive drugs is almost not noticeable.

After a while (it can take several months, and about 4 years) polyps grow in the nasal passage. They look like formations, similar to bags hanging in the lumen of the nasal passage on the pedicle. In most cases, they are clamped between the septum of the nose and its lateral wall.

At the stage of carnification, the tissues of the lower and partially middle nasal concha are significantly compacted and become insensitive to vasoconstrictor agents. This process may be accompanied by the appearance of bouts of bronchial asthma. The common symptoms that characterize the disease become permanent.

Diseases of children

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for an allergic rhinitis in a child. Symptoms and treatment, as well as in the case of adults, will depend on the form and course of the disease. Children can have seasonal or year-round rhinitis. The disease proceeds in the same way as in adults. But children often runny nose, which is due to allergies, reduces the overall resistance of the body. Because of this, the disease is complicated by the addition of viral or bacterial infections.

Seasonal or chronic allergic rhinitis in children is accompanied by edema of the nasal cavity, active release of mucus. Children complain of itching in the nose and eyes, they constantly sneeze. The disease is often accompanied by a cough. But this, by the way, can be a sign of the development of bronchial asthma.

Any allergic rhinitis in a child often gives complications in the form of the appearance of acute (and sometimes chronic) otitis, sinusitis, attachment of various ARI. If you do not treat the baby, then it is fraught with the development of inflammation in the nasal paranasal sinuses.

If possible, it is necessary to eliminate the irritant or reduce the contact of the baby with it to a minimum. In other cases, you need to know how to distinguish an allergic rhinitis from a cold, and start a competent treatment on time. All drugs should be selected together with a doctor. The child should be treated either by a pediatrician or a child allergist. The doctor chooses the drugs that are suitable for age and calculates the necessary dosage.

Professional Therapy

You can not ignore the allergic rhinitis in children and adults. This is fraught with the deterioration of the situation. Therapy is symptomatic (elimination of manifestations of the disease) and allergen-specific. The patient is prescribed funds that mitigate the manifestation of allergic reactions, sedative and vasoconstrictive drugs. Reduce edema and eliminate the obstruction can be with the help of drops and sprays that have a vasoconstrictive effect: Xylometazoline, Nafazolin, Sanorin, Naftizin, Nazivin, Tizin and others. But use them is not worth more than 10 days in a row.

However, symptomatic treatment can give the expected results only in the event that it is possible to eliminate the stimulus. Otherwise, it is also necessary to use antihistamines, corticosteroids or immunotherapy. The first group of drugs include such drugs as Zirtek, Aleron, Claritin, Ketotifen and others.

If the patient's condition is too high, then allergists recommend using corticosteroids. The doctor may prescribe such drugs as "Fluticasone" or "Beclomethasone". They should be used, as a rule, for a month. They are also suitable for those who suffer from bronchial asthma. These funds are prescribed and in the event that there is an allergic rhinitis in the child. Symptoms and treatment in toddlers and adults alike.

Immunotherapy consists in carrying out a number of procedures designed to reduce sensitivity to the allergen. The irritant can be injected into the human body so that it is used to it and stops responding. Begin with small doses, which eventually increase.

Folk methods

Doctors do not get tired of saying that it is fraught with an allergic runny nose. A collection of advice on the treatment of folk remedies can, of course, be found, but one should not hope to get rid of the disease with their help alone.

Among the most popular recommendations are the following. Many advocates of alternative medicine advise burying the nose with the juice of calendula, red geranium or mother-and-stepmother. In addition, you can gargle with a watery infusion of valerian or motherwort.

You can remove swelling with various physical exercises. This recommendation is based on the fact that the load stimulates the sympathetic nerves, and as a result, the vessels narrow and the allergic rhinitis decreases.

Treatment with herbs is also possible. Some recommend brewing celandine, insist it for at least 4 hours and drink. It is believed that with a cold, duckweed also helps. Her infusion (prepared from 1 tablespoon herb and 0.5 liters of water) should be drunk in the mornings for several weeks.

Another popular recommendation is the use of activated carbon in the acute period of the disease. It can be taken 2 tablets up to 5 times a day. This method helps reduce the effects of intoxication.

Even if you are an ardent adherent of traditional medicine and do not recognize conservative methods of treatment, know: if there is an allergy, it is better to make an exception. After all, this disease not only significantly complicates life, but it can lead to a number of serious complications.