Allergic rhinitis, Allergic conjunctivitis, Hay fever

Allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, hay fever

Allergic rhinitis

The main symptoms of allergic rhinitis, sometimes referred to as nasal allergy, are sneezing, runny nose, and nasal congestion. Depending on when symptoms appear, allergic rhinitis is categorized into perennial and seasonal. Hay fever is a common seasonal type of allergic rhinitis.
Perennial allergic rhinitis may be caused by dust mites, house dust, or pets.

Allergic conjunctivitis

Allergic conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, and causes itchy, red, gritty eyes. Like allergic rhinitis, it can be categorized into perennial and seasonal, and can be triggered by pollen, dust mites, house dust, or pets.

Next:Characteristics and Treatment

Allergic rhinitis characteristics and treatment

Symptoms

There are 3 major symptoms of allergic rhinitis: Sneezing, runny nose, and nasal congestion. The intensity of each symptom may differ – you may have more sneezing and a watery nasal discharge, or your nose may feel totally stuffed up.

Triggers

Perennial rhinitis is mainly caused by dust mites and house dust. Inhaling these trigger substances (allergens) causes the reaction, but heredity is also believed to play a part.
Seasonal rhinitis is mainly caused by pollen. Inhaling large amounts of pollen causes IgE antibodies to be produced in your body. When these antibodies reach a certain level, an allergic reaction occurs. Some types of causative pollen are cedar and cypress in early spring and grasses, ragweed, and mugwort from summer to autumn.

Diagnosis

After consultation and rhinoscopy to determine whether the symptoms are allergic in nature, tests are conducted to identify the causative antigen. Tests to identify the antigen include skin tests and blood tests (IgE antibody test).
Severity of allergic rhinitis is categorized into 5 stages (from no symptoms to most severe) depending on the daily frequency of sneezing and runny nose, etc. Aside from the severity classification, a quality of life (QOL) questionnaire may also be used to determine severity.

Treatment

Measures are taken to alleviate symptoms. Such measures include indoor environmental management (reducing dust mites and house dust by cleaning and dehumidifying, etc.) and the use of face masks to prevent inhalation of the causative antigen, and medication. Depending on your symptoms, these measures are used in combination to enhance your quality of life.
Other treatment methods include intentional exposure to the causative antigen, and surgery on the nasal membrane.

Links

What to do (Allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, hay fever)
Nasal allergy guideline (Japanese)

Allergic conjunctivitis characteristics and treatment

Symptoms

Allergic conjunctivitis symptoms are mainly itchy, red eyes, watery or stringy discharge, and a gritty sensation in the eyes. Seasonal conjunctivitis is often accompanied by rhinitis (nose allergy) symptoms as well.

Triggers

As in the case of allergic rhinitis, perennial conjunctivitis is caused mainly by dust mites and house dust, and seasonal conjunctivitis by pollen.

Diagnosis

The doctor may ask you questions and examine you to check for itching and inflammation, and conduct skin tests and blood tests (IgE antibody test) to determine whether the symptoms are allergic in nature. The diagnosis will also categorize your conjunctivitis (seasonal allergic conjunctivitis, perennial allergic conjunctivitis, atopic keratoconjunctivitis, spring catarrh, giant papillary conjunctivitis), taking into consideration such factors as seasonality, history or state of atopic dermatitis, and family history.

Conjunctivitis can also be non-allergic – it can be caused by viruses or bacteria, or by dry eye syndrome.

Treatment

Allergic conjunctivitis is treated mainly by eye drops. If symptoms are relatively mild, anti-allergy eye drops are usually employed. However, when these do not work sufficiently, steroid eye drops or oral medication may be used.
An effective way to alleviate symptoms may be to manage the indoor environment (reducing dust mites and house dust by cleaning and dehumidifying, etc.) and using goggle-type glasses to avoid pollen.