Allergic rhinitis, also known as allergic rhinitis, is an IgE-mediated inflammatory response of the nasal mucosa that occurs after the action of allergens in the environment outside the body on atopic individuals. Allergic rhinitis is an upper respiratory tract disease with complex causes. Allergic rhinitis due to pollen allergy can be called chytridiomycosis, hay fever or seasonal allergic rhinitis.
Symptoms
Symptoms of allergic rhinitis are similar to those of colds, mainly itchy nose, nasal congestion, sneezing and clear watery nose (runny nose), intermittent recurrent attacks, pale and edematous nasal mucosa during attacks, and hives if there are also allergies. Severe allergic cough or asthma may also be combined.
Itchy nose: It is the main first symptom of the disease. In addition to itchy nose, itchy throat, eyes, ears and trachea can also have itchy symptoms.
Sneezing: It is a symptom that occurs after nasal itching and can be a few or dozens of times at a time.
Runny nose: mostly a lot of clear water-like snot, sometimes with mucus.
Nasal congestion: due to edema of the nasal mucosa and turbinates, coupled with the obstruction of secretions, after the attack, the nasal congestion disappears, repeated attacks or attacks for too long, the edematous mucosa may further form nasal polyps, so that the nasal congestion becomes persistent at the foot of the mountain.
Other symptoms: decreased sense of smell, nasal bleeding, headache, watery eyes, itchy eyes, etc.
Nasal allergy symptoms are very similar to those of a common cold infection or the flu. Exposure to other people with colds or flu may increase the likelihood of developing the same symptoms. Typically, cold symptoms usually subside within a week if left untreated, while allergy symptoms may last 10 days or more, sometimes even months.
So how can you tell if you have a cold or an allergic rhinitis attack? In particular, many parents come to the clinic and anxiously tell the doctor, “Doctor, my child has had a cold for a year, what should I do?” Dr. Liu Tao, attending physician of the Department of Rhinology of Xiamen Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, tells you that we can identify the following aspects.
Symptoms: Allergic rhinitis is mostly limited to nasal symptoms and has a long duration of illness, while colds have symptoms such as sore throat, fever, cough, general weakness or muscle aches in addition to nasal symptoms. In the early stage of the cold, there is clear watery snot, which later turns into pus snot.
Physical examination: Physical examination by physicians can reveal congestion of nasal mucosa and pharynx during cold, while allergic rhinitis mostly shows typical pale edematous mucosa.
Testing: Allergic rhinitis mostly has positive skin prick test, or elevated blood IgE, etc.
Treatment
There is no complete cure for allergic rhinitis, but symptoms can be reduced with medication or other methods. Antihistamines, such as Chlorpheniramine Maleate, are usually prescribed at the onset of the disease to stop the allergic reaction in the patient’s body. Since early antihistamines tend to make patients tired, some pharmaceutical companies have developed antihistamines that are less likely to cause tiredness, such as cetirizine hydrochloride and loratadine, to reduce the impact on the daytime activities of patients. Other medications such as cell stabilizers and corticosteroids can also reduce the number of episodes or allergic reactions, and anticongestants can reduce nasal congestion.
Surgical treatment: It can be a complementary treatment to medication. There is no specific surgical method.
Prevention methods
In order to reduce allergic attacks and alleviate the symptoms of the disease, patients must start by changing their daily habits to avoid worsening the disease. The following are some of the things to note in daily life that can effectively prevent or reduce the symptoms of allergic rhinitis.
1. Keep your home environment clean, dry and airy.
2, avoid using carpet or thick curtain cloth, so as to reduce the chance of breeding dust lice in the home.
3.Avoid planting flowering plants to reduce nasal allergy caused by pollen.
4.Avoid contact with animal hair and dander.
5.Wash pillows and bed sheets regularly to avoid dust mites breeding in the room.
6.Avoid wearing woolen clothes and contact with hairy toys.
7.Chemicals such as cosmetics, paints, camphor, insecticides and other odors will stimulate the nasal mucosa and worsen the condition, so they should be eliminated.
8.Avoid staying in crowded places as much as possible: turbid air, weather factors such as extreme heat and cold, dryness or humidity can cause allergic rhinitis attacks.
9. Unless you are allergic to a certain food, you do not need to abstain from eating, just pay attention to a balanced diet and absorb enough nutrients.
10 Avoid contact with cold food, take plenty of water every day and drink less dairy products. [2]
11, mental stress, tension and overwork, easily induced nasal allergy, so it is very important to have enough rest every day.
12, nasal congestion will cause congestion in the lower eye sockets against the nose, when taking a shower, by the way, inhale the steam for three minutes, can relieve nasal congestion.
13, if you go to the more crowded places, you should wear a mask.
Allergic rhinitis acupressure treatment
Knead the nose: repeatedly knead the nose with your fingers on both sides of the nose from top to bottom for 5 minutes, then gently press the Yingxiang (nasolabial groove, the midpoint of the outer edge of the flat nose) and the upper Yingxiang (the upper end of the nasolabial groove each) for 1 minute. Push the Yingxiang point with your fingers 36 to 100 times a day.
Push and press the meridian points: alternate thumbs in order to push the Hall of Indigo (the middle of the two eyebrows) 50 times, use the large fissure of the hand to push and wipe from the forehead to the solar plexus (the midpoint of the line between the outer corner of the eye and the tip of the eyebrow) on each side for 1 minute, press and knead the Zhongfu (6 inches from the front midline of the chest, level with the first rib space), Shouze (on the transverse elbow line, on the radial side of the biceps tendon) and Hegu (between the first and second metacarpal bones, level with the midpoint of the second metacarpal bone) of the hand Taiyin Lung meridian for 1 minute each. Finally, press Fengchi (in the depression at the intersection of the sternocleidomastoid and oblique muscles on the back side of the neck) for 1 minute.
Shoulder and neck: Use the palm of your hand to grasp and squeeze the meridian points of the Governor at the back of the neck and the meridian points on both sides of the back median line, from top to bottom, 4-6 times. Then make lifting movements from the neck to the shoulders on both sides. Heavy accounted for lifting and rubbing the shoulder well point (both hands crossed over the shoulder, under the tip of the middle finger) for 3 minutes, and pressing and rubbing the Lung Yu point (1.5 inches next to the spinous process of the 3rd thoracic vertebra) for 1 minute.
Rub the back: rub the palm of the hand in the upper back back and forth, feel the skin through the heat when the degree. The above massage techniques are done once a day, 10 times as a course of treatment.