Allergic Rhinitis Specialist

How does allergic rhinitis develop?

Allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, develops when your immune system overreacts to harmless substances, labeling them as dangerous. Every time you encounter that same substance, the immune system releases histamines, which cause a variety of classic allergy symptoms.

There are two types of allergic rhinitis:

Seasonal

When you’re allergic to pollen from trees, grasses, and ragweed, your symptoms worsen during the seasons when pollen is high.  

Perennial

If your symptoms appear year-round, your allergic rhinitis may be due to dust mites, pet dander, and mold spores.

You can have seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis. When that happens, you have symptoms all year long but they’re worse during certain seasons.

What are the symptoms of allergic rhinitis?

When you have allergic rhinitis, you’ll experience symptoms such as:

• Sneezing
• A stuffy or runny nose
• Itchy eyes, nose, or skin
• Postnasal drip
• A cough
• Fatigue
• Allergic shiners (dark, swollen skin under your eyes)

When you have allergic rhinitis, you may find that your symptoms are also triggered by environmental irritants such as cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and air pollution.

Does allergic rhinitis cause other health problems?

Children with allergic rhinitis are susceptible to developing a sinus infection or a middle ear infection. In some adults, allergic rhinitis develops into chronic sinusitis.

Allergic rhinitis also increases your risk of developing asthma, migraine headaches, and chronic inflammation that can cause nasal polyps.

How is allergic rhinitis treated?

Many patients find that their symptoms improve if they make environmental changes to minimize exposure to their allergens. For example, keeping their windows closed and removing carpeting and other fabric items that collect dust and pollen are two methods that help.

A variety of medications in the form of pills, nasal sprays, and eye drops can relieve your symptoms, but they don’t affect the actual allergy. The only way to treat your allergy is with immunotherapy (allergy shots or drops).

Before providing immunotherapy, your doctor at The Allergy Clinic performs skin tests to identify your exact allergen. Then that allergen is introduced into your body on a regular schedule, starting with a small dose and gradually increasing the dose.

Over time, your immune system is desensitized to the allergen and stops triggering allergic reactions.

You don’t need to suffer from allergic rhinitis. Call The Allergy Clinic or book an appointment online.