Rhinitis is an inflammation of the nasal mucosa, the common cold is acute rhinitis, allergic rhinitis and other chronic non-allergic rhinitis belong to chronic rhinitis, the public understanding of rhinitis usually belong to chronic rhinitis, because the prevalence of chronic rhinitis more than 10%, that is, the number of people suffering from chronic rhinitis in China up to tens of millions, and patients often suffer from it, but think that rhinitis is a minor problem, should not be difficult to treat So the hope of curing rhinitis is the good wish of most patients.
This is why some false advertising has created a huge psychological market. The actual fact is that you can find a lot of people who are not able to get a good deal on a lot of things. These advertisements are generally false propaganda that do not conform to clinical reality and the characteristics of the disease itself in order to make financial gain. On the one hand, they instill in patients a misconception of the complexity and danger of rhinitis, and on the other hand, they can cause misdiagnosis and misdiagnosis and even irreparable and permanent health damage, and even lead to abnormalities in the mental state of patients.
To achieve standardized treatment of rhinitis, the first thing to do is to achieve a standardized diagnosis of rhinitis. The first step is to visit a specialist clinic for rhinitis or an ENT specialist, and to identify the patient’s disease through careful consultation combined with some ancillary tests, such as skin allergen testing or serum allergen antibody testing, and imaging, so that the disease can be clearly classified and targeted treatment can be given.
On the one hand, the standard treatment includes taking necessary measures to reduce the exposure to the identified allergens, such as avoiding contact with pets if you are allergic to animal hair, reducing the exposure to pollen during pollen season, reducing the exposure to dust mites in the living room, etc. For some patients with less severe allergic rhinitis, anti-allergy drugs (antihistamines) can be used, which are effective in relieving runny nose, sneezing, itchy nose and eye symptoms, and have a certain degree of effect on improving nasal congestion. If the allergic rhinitis is prolonged or there are still symptoms of nasal congestion, nasal glucocorticoids are the most suitable first-line therapeutic drugs to provide comprehensive relief of nasal symptoms such as sneezing, nasal congestion, runny nose, nasal itching and eye symptoms; both therapeutic and preventive. Since they are used topically, the systemic side effects are minimal and they are safer for long-term use.
The above drugs are best used continuously rather than on an as-needed basis. If these treatments do not work well, desensitization therapy, also known as immunotherapy, can also be considered, which is currently the only allopathic treatment method that uses an extract (vaccine) made from the allergen that caused the patient’s allergic reaction and gives that patient a desensitization injection so that no or less allergic reaction occurs or the symptoms of the allergic reaction are reduced. Although it cannot completely cure allergic rhinitis, it can significantly improve the symptoms of allergic rhinitis and prevent the occurrence of asthma, which can improve the prognosis of allergic diseases.
For some patients who are currently considered to have non-allergic chronic rhinitis, which means that there are no clear allergenic factors, they can also be improved by standardized medication. Some patients will purchase their own medications from pharmacies, and many common medications, while providing temporary relief, are not appropriate for long-term use. For example, excessive use of vasoconstrictors, etc. not only fails to provide good therapeutic effect, but also can lead to drug rhinitis and even destroy the structure and function of the nasal mucosa. Traditional medicine such as Chinese medicine or acupuncture can also be effective for rhinitis, but it needs to be prescribed by an experienced physician according to the patient’s specific situation, rather than the so-called miraculous effect of a cure for all diseases.
The main reason for this is that chronic rhinitis, like other chronic inflammatory diseases, can be effectively controlled over the long term and the inflammatory response can be reduced by current treatments.