Table of Contents
Treatment
If rhinitis symptoms are caused by non-allergic conditions, particularly if there are accompanying symptoms indicating a serious problem, the doctor should treat any underlying disorders. If rhinitis is caused by medications, such as decongestants, the patient may need to stop taking them or find alternatives.
A variety of factors must be considered in selecting a treatment approach. These include:
- Severity of the symptoms
- Frequency (seasonal versus all year, how often during the week)
- Age of patient
- Presence of other related illnesses, such as asthma, atopic eczema, sinusitis, and polyps
- Patient preference regarding types of treatment
- Association with allergens
- Potential and known side effects of medications
- Patient's age
Treatment Options
Patients with allergic rhinitis have many treatment options available to them:
- Environmental control measures can help reduce exposure to allergens.
- Nasal washes may provide good symptomatic relief for some patients.
- Different nasal sprays, including nasal corticosteroid sprays, nasal antihistamine sprays, ipratopium bromide nasal spray (Atrovent), nasal cromolyn, and nasal decongestant sprays are available. DO NOT USE DECONGESTANT SPRAYS FOR MORE THAN THREE DAYS AT A TIME.
- Many brands of antihistamine pills are available by prescription and over-the-counter. Some are combined with decongestants. Decongestant pills may also be used by themselves.
- Other anti-inflammatory drugs, including leukotriene antagonists
- Immunotherapy ("allergy shots")
All drug treatments have side effects, some very unpleasant and, in rare cases, serious. Patients may need to try different drugs until they find one that relieves symptoms without producing excessively distressing side effects.
Treating Seasonal Allergies
Previous Section
Review Date: 05/03/2011
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical
School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by
David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
