It is an inflammatory condition of nasal mucosa marked by nasal congestion rhinorrhea and itching. it is recognised as major chronic respiratory disease of children.
It is also associated with conjunctivitis, sinusitis, otitis media, serous otitis, hypertrophic nostrils and adenoid hyperplasia .
It increases risk for asthma.
The symptoms may appear in infancy but it usually diagnosed when the child is as the age of 6 year.
Risk increases in children whose mothers smoke heavily.
Three or more episode of rhinorrhea in the first year of life is associated with allergic rhinitis at the age of 7 years.
lnterestingly exposure to dogs , cats in childhood protects against the development of atopy.
Allergic rhinitis categorised as mild intermittent, moderate severe intermittent , mild persistent moderate and severe persistent. If it is less than 4 days per week it is called intermittent symptoms . If it is more than equal to 4 days a week and more than equal to four weeks at a time then it is called persistent symptoms.
When there is no impairment in daily activities then it is called mild symptoms.
In temperature climate airborne pollen responsible for exacerbation of intermittent allergic rhinitis.
Clinical feature
Symptoms of nasal congestion like rhinorrhea sneezing tell mucosa cobblestoning of nasopharynx turbinate hypertrophy
Allergic gape ( continuous mouth breathing )
Ocular symptoms like itchy ,watery eyes and dennie Morgan lines, lower eyelid edema which was known as allergic shiners increased sinus and acute otitis media.
differential diagnosis :-
Vasomotor rhinitis
Rhinitis medicamentosa
Non allergic rhinitis
