Allergic rhinitis is a common condition affecting individuals of all ages. It's estimated that up to 30 percent of people in the Western suffer from allergic rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis is not an infection. It occurs when the body’s immune system over-responds to specific, non-infectious particles such as plant pollens, house plants, molds, dust mites, animal hair, industrial chemicals (including tobacco smoke), foods, medicines, and insect venom. During an allergy attack, antibodies, primarily immunoglobin E (IgE), attach to mast cells (cells that release histamine) in the lungs, skin, and mucous membranes. Once IgE connects with the mast cells, a number of chemicals are released. One of the chemicals, histamine, opens the blood vessels and causes skin redness and swollen membranes. When this occurs in the nose, sneezing and congestion are the result. Since the histamine releases causes many of the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, anti-histamines are often prescribed.
Complications of allergic
rhinitis
Those afflicted with allergic rhinitis often
suffer from associated inflammatory conditions of the mucosa, such as
rhinosinusitis, asthma, otitis media with effusion, and other atopic
conditions, such as eczema and food allergies. Lack of treatment or
treatment with suboptimal therapy may result in reduced quality of life
and compromise productivity at work or school. Although environmental
controls may prove difficult to implement, and not all controls appear
adequately to mitigate symptoms of allergic, they continue to represent a
foundation for treatment.
Natural
Supplements for Allergic Rhinitis
= Allergic Rhinitis treatment - Natural
Research is quite limited in this area, however one recent study
with butterbur
offers some promise.
Spirulina may also help.
Grapeseed extract has not been found helpful in the treatment of fall seasonal allergic rhinitis. For more information on allergy treatment with natural
supplements, see Allergy
or
natural
antihistamine.
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We will mention research updates on allergic rhinitis and nonallergic rhinitis when published.
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Seasonal allergic rhinitis
Seasonal allergic rhinitis is often called "Hay fever". Tree and grass
pollens and some fungi trigger seasonal allergic nose and eye allergy during
springtime and early summer (March to June). Seasonal allergic rhinitis symptoms
include nasal and eye itching with explosive sneezing, watery eyes and nose and
itchy palate and ears with profuse post-nasal drip. Seasonal allergic rhinitis
patients do not develop
the typical "allergy face" but have seasonal puffiness of the eyes and eyelids
with associated nasal membrane swelling.
Seasonal allergic rhinitis affects more than 23 million
Americans annually, and current epidemiologic studies indicate that its
prevalence within the United States is increasing. One option is
MSM supplement.
Allergic Rhinitis treatment
Potential approaches to the treatment of allergic rhinitis are the avoidance
of allergens and medication with chromone compounds, antihistaminics and
glucocorticosteroids. The sole causally effective treatment is specific
immunotherapy. Leukotriene receptor antagonists, anti-IgE antibodies and
monoclonal CD-4-molecules, as also soluble cytokine receptors are potential
therapeutic options, the value of which currently remains unknown. The
occasional use of a nasal
decongestant such as pseudoephedrine is accepatable, if used in the morning
by those who have not heart problems.
Omnaris (ciclesonide) nasal spray is a new drug for the
treatment of nasal symptoms associated with seasonal and perennial allergic
rhinitis, commonly known as hay fever, in adults and children 12 years of age
and older.
Shining a combination of
ultraviolet (UV) A and B and visible light into the nasal cavities suppresses
the itchiness and runny nose caused by allergic rhinitis.
Perennial allergic rhinitis
Perennial allergic rhinitis is usually caused by indoor allergens such as house
dust mite and pet skin flakes. Perennial allergic rhinitis is similar to hay
fever - the allergen causes inflammation and irritation of the delicate linings
in the nose and eyes. However, the allergic rhinitis goes on throughout the year
as opposed to seasonal allergic rhinitis which occurs only during certain
seasons.
Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma
Good asthma management requires appropriate treatment of persistent
stuffy nose or "allergic rhinitis. Treating allergic rhinitis as part of asthma
treatment leads to controlling asthma with a lower dose of inhaled steroid.
Allergic Rhinitis and Sleep
Allergic rhinitis affects all aspects of sleep. Patients with severe
symptoms may have more sleep disturbances than those with a mild form of the
disease. Compared to people with mild allergic rhinitis, those with severe
allergic rhinitis have significantly impaired sleep. Those with allergic
rhinitis use significantly more sleeping pills and alcohol than those with clear
noses. Archives of Internal Medicine, September 2006.
Grass Pollen Allergy
Children with grass pollen allergy are prone to develop asthma. Specific
grass pollen immunotherapy appears to be a safe and effective treatment for
children with seasonal allergic asthma who react to grass pollen. Several
reports have shown specific immunotherapy to safely reduce the symptoms of
hayfever in children and adults. Good candidates have summer asthma and often
hayfever. They should have a positive skin prick test to the grass pollen
allergen and positive serum specific IgE to it. The children should have no
significant asthma symptoms from other allergens or unstable asthma during the
winter when treatment tapering occurs.
Allergic Rhinitis from
Houseplants?
Symptoms of up to 20 percent of people with allergic rhinitis may be due
to exposure to house plants, according to Dr. Olivier Michel of the Free
University of Brussels in Belgium. The weeping fig tree, a type of ficus tree
that exudes latex, could be a source of inhaled allergens. Michel and his team
tested 59 allergic rhinitis sufferers and a control group of 15 healthy
individuals for sensitization to ficus, yucca, ivy, palm tree and other common
ornamental plants using a skin prick test. Seventy-eight percent of the allergic
rhinitis patients were sensitized to at least one of the plants. No one in the
control group was sensitized to the test plants. Sensitization doesn't
necessarily mean a person's allergic symptoms are due to a particular substance.
For two patients in the study who were allergic to ficus, removing the plant
from their environment stopped their symptoms completely. Allergy, September
2006.
Allergic rhinitis symptom
Symptoms of allergic rhinitis may develop within minutes after breathing in an
allergen, or they may come hours later. The most common immediate allergic
rhinitis symptoms include:
Repeated sneezing. This can occur upon waking up in the morning especially
during hayfever season.
A runny nose. The drainage from a runny nose caused by allergies is usually
clear and thin but may thicken and become cloudy or yellowish if a nasal or
sinus infection develops.
Postnasal drip, which often feels like a tickle in your throat. It can trigger a
cough as you try to clear your throat.
Watery, itchy eyes. Some people may confuse this as an eye infection.
Itchy ears, nose, and throat are other symptoms of allergic rhinitis..
Allergic Rhinitis Research Update
Treating intermittent allergic rhinitis: a prospective, randomized,
placebo and antihistamine-controlled study of Butterbur extract Ze 339.
Phytother Res. 2005 Jun;19(6):530-7.
Intermittent allergic rhinitis causes patients distress and impairs their
work performance and quality of life. Prospective, randomized, double-blind,
parallel group comparison study of Butterbur extract (Ze 339; 8 mg total
petasine; one tablet thrice-daily), fexofenadine (Telfast 180, one tablet
once-daily) and placebo in 330 patients. Protocol and analysis were according to
the latest guidelines on new treatments for allergic rhinitis. FINDINGS: Both
active treatments were individually significantly superior to placebo in
improving symptoms of allergic rhinitis, while there were no differences between
the two active treatments. Superiority to placebo was similarly shown during the
evening/night, by physicians' own assessment and by responder rates. Both
treatments were well tolerated. Butterbur and Fexofenadine are
comparably efficacious relative to placebo. Despite being a herbal drug,
Butterbur has now been subject to a series of well controlled trials and should
be considered as an alternative treatment for allergic rhinitis.
Allergic rhinitis or non allergic
rhinitis?
Chronic rhinitis symptoms are among the most common reasons patients visit their
doctors. The difficulty presenting a doctor is to diagnose and find out the
cause of this runny or stuffy nose. Is the cause of the rhinitis allergic,
nonallergic, or perhaps an overlap of both conditions? This is very difficult to
determine since symptoms of allergic rhinitis, nonallergic rhinitis or mixed
rhinitis (a situation where both are present) are similar.
Although the prevalence of nonallergic rhinitis has not been
studied definitively, it appears to be very common with an estimated prevalence
in the United States of approximately 20 million. In comparison, the prevalence
of mixed rhinitis is approximately 26 million, and allergic rhinitis ("pure" and
"mixed" combined) 58 million.
Cause of Nonallergic rhinitis
Patients with non allergic rhinitis are often older than age 20, are mostly
women, have nasal hyperactivity, perennial symptoms, and nasal eosinophilia.
Positive tests for relevant specific IgE sensitivity in the setting of rhinitis
do not rule out "mixed rhinitis" and may not rule out nonallergic rhinitis.
Causes of nonallergic rhinitis are infectious rhinitis, hormonal
rhinitis, vasomotor rhinitis, nonallergic rhinitis with eosinophilia syndrome (NARES),
certain types of occupational rhinitis, and gustatory and drug-induced rhinitis.
Allergic Rhinitis emails
Q. I was very interested to read your information about the
Perilla frutescens
Research Update:
Absorption, metabolism, degradation and urinary excretion of rosmarinic
acid after intake of Perilla frutescens extract in humans. Eur J Nutr.
2005 Feb;44(1):1-9. Epub 2004 Feb 18 on your website. I have been using
perilla extract against my seasonal allergic rhinitis and allergy-induced
asthma for about three years with great success. I am wondering if you
know of any studies that have been done about the affect of perilla
extract on human fertility, especially any negative impact it may have on
male sperm. My wife is pregnant and was conceived while I was taking
Allermin (TM) 150mg two times a day.
A. We did a search on medline using the two keys words
perilla and fertility and did not come across any studies regarding the
relationship.
Decongestant