How to distinguish an allergic rhinitis from an ordinary cold?

Rhinitis or rhinitis is a set of symptoms that occur when the nasal mucosa irritates. The most common cause of the common cold is inflammation: with colds, infectious diseases, mucus is produced intensively in the nose, serving as a trap for microorganisms. Thus, the body is protected from the entry of new bacteria.

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An allergic rhinitis causes the same symptoms, but they have a completely different cause.

Symptoms

Allergic reactions are termed hypersensitivity to some, sometimes completely harmless substance or biological object. It arises due to a malfunction in the immune system.

The causes of the allergy are not exactly established. The mechanism is the same: bacteria and viruses that get into the body are attacked with antibodies - immunoglobulin E, and, usually, are destroyed. However, it is not uncommon for the immune system to erroneously identify both harmless foreign substances and even the "native" cells of the organism and attack them as microorganisms.

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Attack is accompanied by external symptoms, characteristic of acute inflammatory disease. Of these, the appearance of a red rash and a cold is the most common.

Allergic rhinitis is caused by two groups of allergens.

• Open sources are temporary, most often seasonal in nature: pollen, mold spores. Runny nose in such cases is closely related to the appearance and spread of this factor.
• Closed - "work" year-round. Wool and animal skin, down, mold and so on. In this case, rhinitis lasts at least 9 months a year, but can magically cease if the allergen is removed.

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This direct, pronounced relationship between the appearance of a substance and allergic inflammation and serves as a clear sign of an allergic nature.

The video tells how to distinguish an allergic rhinitis from a cold:

In adults

Allergic rhinitis usually begins violently, especially if the contact with the allergen was tight. Unfortunately, by this sign it is impossible to distinguish it from the inflammatory rhinitis, since acute rhinitis has the same signs and the same rate of manifestation.

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Symptoms of an allergic rhinitis in adults are as follows:

• frequent sneezing, usually in the form of seizures. Over time, only increases;
• copious discharge from the nose - transparent, without traces of pus;
• itching in the nose, on the fate around the nose, eyes, sometimes even the ears;
• permanent nasal congestion, worse at night. Drops tend to ease the situation for a short time;
• inflammation of the skin of the nose and the site around, redness;
• profuse tear, redness and itchy eyelids;
• is often observed edema not only the area around the nose, but also the entire face.

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The intensity of symptoms is determined by the stage of the disease and the frequency of contact with the allergen.

• Light - symptoms are poorly expressed, do not interfere with professional activity, sometimes even in a dream do not bother. This situation is typical for rhinitis caused by internal allergens with a weak contact with the source - a neighbor's cat, for example.
• Average - constant stuffiness and sneezing provoke headaches, dizziness. The sleep is broken, which leads to irritability and lethargy.
• Heavy - the inability to breathe properly prevents not only at night, but also during the day, migraines are added to dizziness. If the runny nose is accompanied by a paroxysmal sneeze, the latter cause real torment to the patient. Possible nasal bleeding, swelling of mucous membranes.

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In severe cases, removal of the allergen does not affect the development of the disease, special measures are required to suppress the allergic reaction.

To determine the nature of the disease, some studies are being carried out. To treat an allergic rhinitis by usual means against an inflammation it is useless, diagnostics in such situation is necessary.

Some of the survey methods are applicable only to adults.

• Visual inspection of - in addition to ascertaining swelling and redness, the specialist is using the device to inspect the inner surface of the nose.
• Patient survey - aims to identify possible allergens and the relationship between them and rhinitis. So, the presence of an allergic rhinitis in relatives significantly increases the chances of a recurrence of this disease in the younger generation. Medications taken can cause the appearance of characteristic symptoms, but have a different cause. Finally, the timing of the exacerbation, which coincide with the flowering of the plant, for example, is a pretty strong proof.
• Skin test - inject a small amount of an allergen with a puncture under the skin. If there is a reaction to it, within 20 minutes the place of injection will turn red and swell. The skin test is performed on patients no younger than 3-4 years.
• nasal swab analysis measures the number of certain cells that indicate an allergic condition.
• Assay for immunoglobulin - allows to detect an increase in the amount of immunoglobulin in the action of some allergen. The test is less informative than cutaneous, and is conducted only when the latter is impossible.

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If the listed methods did not give a reliable result, then nasal endoscopy, X-rays and even computed tomography are performed.

In children

External symptoms in children and adults are not different:

• sneezing attacks , can be very strong, provoke swelling;
• transparent discharge from the nose .But if from an allergic rhinitis there was an infection or an inflammation, the allocation becomes purulent;
• itching in the nose .For children, the reflex rubbing of the tip of the nose with a palm is characteristic, even if there is no stasis at this moment;
• shortness of breath, dryness, congestion ;With a prolonged course of the disease, secondary symptoms develop: irregular bite, nasal, even snoring. On the back of the nose due to rubbing the palm creates a characteristic fold;
• there is a "geographic" language - bright, clearly defined spots in the language.

Usually, an allergic rhinitis is formed in children aged 4 to 6 years. Breasts and babies up to 3 rarely suffer from such disorders, as they rarely contact the allergen long enough.

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Treatment should be all the more urgent, the younger the child. The fact that allergic rhinitis provokes the appearance of asthma, and the earlier it was formed, the higher the risk of the disease.

Diagnosing ailment is more difficult than in adults. Little children can not help the doctor when they are interviewed, children under the age of 3 can not take skin tests. The diagnosis is established by the results of a blood test, observations of the parents, nasal endoscopy in difficult cases.

The video tells how to recognize an allergic rhinitis in a child:

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Differences

By one symptom only, it is impossible to distinguish allergic rhinitis from cold, year-round and other forms of it. But the combination of indirect features helps to establish the true picture.

• Seasonality of - if rhinitis is caused by open allergens, then its manifestation is closely related to the presence of the source. This is the simplest case and the most common.
• Allergen - communication can also be established in cases when allergy causes a substance used rarely. The easiest way to detect this is an allergic reaction to household chemicals, since the connection here is obvious.
• Incurable - conventional drugs very briefly eliminate the stuffiness and suppress sneezing. On the contrary, "unintentional" administration of histamine preparations, caused by some other ailment, can suddenly cure a runny nose.
• The medical analysis data - excessive number of eosinophils in the nasal secretion, increased content of immunoglobulin in the blood, data of the skin test. All this information in aggregate helps to distinguish the allergic rhinitis from colds.

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On the video - more information how to distinguish the allergic rhinitis:

Allergic rhinitis is an unpleasant disease, precisely because it often does not have characteristic symptoms. Because of this, the diagnosis of the disease is difficult, and, hence, the treatment takes more time.