Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

Allergic rhinitis is inflammation of the nasal passageways as a result of exposure to airborne allergens. Symptoms include, rhinnorhea (a “runny” nose), sneezing and itching of the nose. The inflammation also results in swelling and narrowing of the nasal passage with resultant symptoms of nasal congestion (a “stuffy” nose). Very often people with allergies will have associated eye symptoms with itchy, scratchy, watery, red eyes.

Allergic rhinitis can be either seasonal or year round. Seasonal allergic rhinitis is caused by airborne pollen from trees, grass, weeds or from mold spores. Symptoms are variable throughout the year with the peak in symptoms corresponding to the peak airborne allergen count. Year-round allergies or perennial allergic rhinitis are most often caused by exposure to dust mite, pet allergens (cats or dogs most often) or  indoor mold.

Nasal allergies can severely impact a person’s quality of life. Often people with severe allergies cannot remember what it felt like to be “well”.  They may not be able to enjoy the outdoors especially during times of the year when pollen counts are high. They often suffer from recurrent sinus infections or have chronic sinusitis. In people who also have asthma, a flair in allergic rhinitis symptoms can trigger an asthma exacerbation.

Allergists/immunologist are specialized in diagnosing allergies and identifying the cause of symptoms. They are uniquely trained in performing skin tests which is the most sensitive way to identify allergies. This is very important, as minimizing exposure to allergic triggers is important to effectively treating the symptoms. Allergist/immunologist can also prescribe medications that are very effective in treating the symptoms. They also can prescribe allergy immunotherapy also called “allergy shots”, which are very effective in reducing or eliminating symptoms when medications do not give complete relief or if the patient does not want to use medication.

You don’t have to suffer endlessly from allergies! See an allergist/immunologist to get on the road to feeling well again.

Below are some facts about allergies from the AAAAI website.

• Estimates from a skin test survey suggest that allergies affect as many as 40 to 50 million people in the United States.
• Allergic diseases affect more than 20% of the U.S. population.
• Allergic diseases are the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the United States.
• At least 35.9 million people in the United States have seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever).
• Approximately 14.1 million physician office visits each year are attributed to allergic rhinitis.
• Immunotherapy is ultimately successful in up to 90% of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis and in 70 to 80% with perennial allergic rhinitis.
• The estimated overall costs of allergic rhinitis in the United States in 1996 totaled $6 billion.
• It is estimated that in 1998, increased absenteeism and reduced productivity due to allergies cost U.S. companies more than $250 million.