What is Allergic Rhinitis?

Allergic rhinitis is an allergic reaction of your body when it comes into contact with some allergens. Allergens are the tiny particles in the air that you inhale while breathing. These allergens do not cause problems for everyone, but if you are sensitive to any of these allergens, they will trigger an allergic reaction in your body. It causes nasal congestion, sneezing, and irritation of your nose, throat, eyes, and mouth.

When you come into contact with an allergen to which your body is sensitive, your immune system releases a chemical called histamine. This histamine causes inflammation of your nose and throat, which in turn leads to rhinitis. It is an immune response that the body produces to protect you against this allergen and tries to expel it from your body. Allergic rhinitis is also known as ‘hay fever’.

The allergen can be any tiny particle indoors or outdoors. The common allergens are:

• Pollen from flowers of plants, trees and grasses
• Dust mites
• Animal dander (tiny skin flakes of animals)
• Saliva of animals
• Mold in damp places
• Cockroach droppings and saliva
• Bird droppings or feather

Symptoms of Allergic Rhinitis

The common symptoms of allergic rhinitis are as follows:

• Frequent sneezing and runny nose.
• Nasal congestion (stuffy nose)
• Watery eyes.
• Redness in the eyes.
• Itching and irritation in the nose, throat, and eyes.
• Headache.
• Coughing and wheezing.
• Sore throat (sometimes).
• Hives.

Seasonal vs Perennial Allergic Rhinitis

Your hay fever can be seasonal or perennial. If your symptoms appear in a particular season every year, it is seasonal allergic rhinitis. It occurs due to pollen allergies and mostly worsens during flowering seasons. Your allergy may be triggered by some particular type of plant pollen; not all pollen will cause it. The symptoms of seasonal hay fever will aggravate outdoors.

On the other hand, perennial allergic rhinitis persists all year long irrespective of season. It is mostly caused by allergens other than plant pollen, such as dust mites, animal dander, and molds. These allergens mostly persist indoors, so your symptoms will be aggravated mostly when you are inside the house and in a closed environment.

Allergic Rhinitis Vs Common Cold

The common cold is a viral infection that has similar symptoms to those of allergic rhinitis (hay fever). Despite its name, the common cold can occur in any season. There are some differences in symptoms of the common cold and hay fever that can help you distinguish what your issue is. These differences are:

• The common cold is infectious, so it may spread to people around you, but hay fever is an immune response of your body against allergens.
• In hay fever, there will not be a fever, while in a common cold, you may feel feverish.
• In hay fever, there will be watery eyes with redness; this is rare in the common cold.
• In the common cold, there is often a sore throat, but it is rare in hay fever.
• Most common colds go away within 7-10 days, whereas allergic rhinitis persists as long as the allergen is present around you.