Why do some people have a runny nose all the time?

There is no easy way to say this - your house is full of skin flakes that have fallen off you, and this feeds the house dust mite - one of the leading causes of allergic rhinitis.

A doctor explains how allergic rhinitis is diagnosed, and why it is so important to treat it

Iris Cole

09/09/2022

Friday, 09 September 2022, 08:00 Updated: 08:05

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What is allergic rhinitis and how is it treated (Walla system)

There are quite a few people (especially children, but not only) who walk around almost regularly with a runny nose.

In some cases the reason for this is a cold or a virus, but in other cases it is an allergic runny nose that may accompany them for a long time.

Dr. Shira Ben Or, a senior physician in the allergy and clinical immunology unit at the Children's Allergy Clinic in Ichilov, was a guest on the "Expert Clinic" podcast to explain why this happens and how it affects health.

Allergic rhinitis is an almost constant runny nose, and it often has additional characteristics that help confirm the The suspicion, such as itching in the nose, palate or eyes, and sneezing in fits. In addition, allergic rhinitis increases with the change of seasons, especially in the spring, unlike an infectious rhinitis that increases in the winter. It usually begins at the age of six, and the peak is in the second decade of life. "The typical patient is a school-age child Elementary, having fits of sneezing.

Sometimes it's children who at a younger age had another manifestation of allergy, such as skin asthma or food allergy,"

why is it happening?

"The mechanism of creating the allergic discharge is that the body produces antibodies against substances we are exposed to by breathing, substances to which it is not supposed to produce antibodies," explained Dr. Ben Or, "there is a combination of genetic predisposition, we often see allergic episodes in several family members, and there are It's also a matter of exposure." Dr. Ben Or added that there has been an increase in allergies in recent decades, and this is probably related to our lifestyle.

"We are less exposed to bacterial and parasitic pollutants, and our lifestyle is more sterile in terms of exposure to good bacteria, we are less in contact with animals and with soil, grass and vegetation, and our body produces antibodies in excess against things that do not harm us," she added.

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To the full article

In Israel, the most common cause of allergic rhinitis is house dust mites.

"It's a creature, not even an insect, that hides in the house dust, in pillows, blankets, mattresses, this production feeds on our skin scales, so it is found where we are a lot," explained Dr. Ben Or. The level of cleanliness of the house has a certain effect on mites The dust, but not completely. "Vacuuming helps, it doesn't completely remove all the mites, but it does remove the skin scales that we shed everywhere, so it has less food."

Repulsive and causes allergies.

The dust mite (Photo: ShutterStock)

Besides frequent vacuuming, another thing that helps to deal with dust mites is exposure to sunlight.

"Like the grandmothers used to take the blankets and carpets out into the sun. Sunlight kills house dust mites, so there are more mites in dark rooms or for teenagers in closed rooms," added Dr. Ben Or.

Does chronic rhinitis have health consequences?

"The distress is real, and there are children as well as adults who, beyond the allergic rhinitis, are also dealing with complications of this - chronic blockage of the nose can also cause inflammation of the sinuses, chronic sinusitis; the very fact that the nose is blocked and breathing through the mouth dries out the mouth and this causes a risk of caries and structural changes in the face - because you sleep with your mouth open all the time; this increases the risk of allergic asthma, because the nose has a role to filter the air, and if you breathe through the mouth, the air reaches the lungs contaminated," Dr. Ben Or explained, adding that this is why it is so important to treat allergic rhinitis .

Do not ignore the symptoms.

A liquid boy (Photo: ShutterStock)

How are you treated?

The first step in treating allergic rhinitis is to reduce exposure, but to do this you need to diagnose and understand exactly what the allergy is.

"A family doctor or a pediatrician who sees a very typical case, can start initial treatment even before they get to the allergy doctor," said Dr. Ben Or. After that, at the allergy doctor, "they do tests - drip allergens on the skin and then scratch a little, it doesn't hurt , but it is annoying and itchy.

According to the various extracts, where there is an allergy there is a small swelling like a mosquito bite.

According to the result, you can try to reduce exposure," she explained. "If you see that a person is allergic to a cat, they are told to take an antihistamine before visiting a house with a cat.

It reduces all these symptoms, it makes it easier."

The usual treatment for allergic rhinitis is antihistamines, in pill, syrup or spray.

"Precisely the over-the-counter medications that relieve congestion are dangerous in these cases, because they create a phenomenon of addiction. It is recommended to get an anti-allergy spray from a doctor," she clarified.

"In severe cases where the use of the drug does not help, there is a treatment called immunotherapy, which is to get the body used to stop producing antibodies."

This is a treatment that has been given for decades.

This is a 3-year treatment in which the substance that the person is allergic to is injected.

The treatment can only be obtained in allergy clinics that are prepared to treat a multisystemic reaction if it occurs.

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• Runny nose

• allergy