By A.A. (staff writer) , published on August 02, 2020
Allergic rhinitis is also called hay fever. The symptoms of hay fever are sneezing, sinus pressure, itchy eyes, and runny nose. Hay fever has cold-like symptoms. However, hay fever is not caused by a virus. Hay fever is known as an allergic condition due to allergic response to indoor and outdoor allergens like dust mites, the saliva of dogs, cats, pollens or feathers, or fur of animals1.
Symptoms of Hay Fever
The following are the symptoms of hay fever.
The patients of asthma might also feel following symptoms
The symptoms of hay fever may last for weeks or months and typically goes away within 2 weeks2.
Triggers of Hay Fever
Types of Hay Fever
There are two types of allergic rhinitis:
Seasonal Hay Fever:
It is a season based allergic reaction mostly in early fall, spring, and summer. They are typically triggered by exposure to airborne mold spores or pollen from leaves, grasses, or plants.
Perennial Hay Fever:
Symptoms appear all year round and are usually triggered by exposure to dust mites, pet fur or dandruff, cockroaches, or spores.
Causes of Hay Fever
Hay Fever happens when your body detects any foreign particle and makes antibodies (IgE) against it. The body may consider different substances as foreign particles like mold, pollen, dust, animal fur. These foreign particles are called allergens.
Common causes of hay fever include:
Treatment of Hay Fever
Hay fever can be treated with many over-the-counter medicines. Your doctor or pharmacist can advise you on the best treatment. Normally it is recommended to take a combination of medicines to treat hay fever.
Medications
The following are common medicines used for hay fever.
Antihistamine tablets, sprays:
Antihistamines are the drug of choice in allergic conditions. They block the chemical histamine release and treat allergic symptoms. They are effective in relieving symptoms like sneezing, rash, itching, runny nose, and sore throat.
The major problem with older antihistamines is that they cause sedation. Cetirizine, Levocetirizine, Loratadine, fexofenadine, and Ebastine are common antihistamines used for hay fever.
Eye drops:
Cromoglycate is present in eye drops that can reduce swelling and itching in the eyes. They are used in combination with other medicines.
Nasal corticosteroids:
Nasal corticosteroids effectively treat the inflammation caused by hay fever. They are safe to use and can be used for long-term management of hay fever. They may cause nose irritation, unpleasant taste, and smell.
Examples of drugs
Oral corticosteroids:
Prednisone tablets are mostly prescribed by doctors as a short term treatment of hay fever. It must not be used for longer periods as it causes serious side effects like osteoporosis, cataracts, muscle weakness, and increased appetite (obesity)3.
Complications of Hay Fever
The following are the complications of hay fever.
Reduced quality of life:
Hay fever will disrupt your pleasure of activities and make you less successful. It reduces the quality of life in individuals, the effects of hay fever contribute to absences from work or education.
Ear infection:
Hay fever may lead to middle ear infection in children (otitis media)
Poor sleep:
Hay fever can disturb your sleep pattern. It causes a feeling of being unwell and leads to fatigue that makes it difficult for you to sleep.
Intensify asthma:
Hay fever aggravates the symptoms of asthma-like wheezing and coughing4.
References