Can allergic rhinitis be cured?

  Allergic rhinitis is a worldwide health problem with an average prevalence of about 20%, and in some economically developed countries even up to 40%, which can be considered a disease of affluence. From the point of view of the disease process, allergy usually occurs in individuals with a specific body type, i.e. atopic patients, known abroad as Atopy. but allergic body will only produce a series of clinical reactions, such as sneezing, nasal itching and runny nose, after contact with the allergen that causes it. Although allergic rhinitis does not kill the patient, it can affect the patient’s work, study, sleep and recreation, thus leading to a reduced quality of life. A number of comorbidities may develop if treatment is delayed or improperly treated, the most important and common of which is asthma. The treatment of allergic rhinitis can be more complicated and troublesome when these conditions are combined.  Can allergic rhinitis be cured?  This is a thorny question often encountered by allergists or rhinologists, and a central question that patients suffering from allergic rhinitis (and asthma, dermatitis, etc.) look forward to solving? Since no one can get over this hurdle, how exactly should doctors and patients understand and respond to this question?  A cure literally means that after one or two treatments or one or two medications, the problem will never recur, that is, it will be solved once and for all. Unfortunately, the concept of cure is only applicable to some surgical diseases, such as acute or chronic appendicitis, where the diseased appendix is surgically removed and the organ is gone, and the disease will not recur in the future. For example, chronic gastritis, chronic hepatitis, chronic nephritis, can not be surgically removed, at most, the disease is controlled with drugs, no clinical symptoms affecting physical and mental health, that is, to achieve clinical cure, there is no cure; even simple common diseases such as the flu, it is not possible to have only once in a lifetime, a single medicine to solve the problem once and for all. It is impossible to solve the problem once in a lifetime with one medicine.  Therefore, to expect a cure for allergic rhinitis is against the natural law of disease development. The goal of treatment for doctors and patients should be to control it with medication or other means to achieve a clinical cure that no longer affects work life.  It is gratifying to know that, thanks to new, more effective and safer drugs and treatments, the treatment of allergic rhinitis can now achieve the desired therapeutic effect, i.e. clinical cure, through correct and rational use of drugs.