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Allergic rhinitis is a collection of symptoms, predominantly in the nose and eyes, caused by airborne particles of dust, dander, or plant pollens in people who are allergic to these substances.
When these symptoms are caused by pollen, the allergic rhinitis is commonly called hay fever.
The pollens that cause hay fever vary from person to person and from region to region. Large, visible pollens are seldom responsible for hay fever. Tiny, hard to see pollens more often cause hay fever. Examples of plants commonly responsible for hay fever include:
- Trees (deciduous and evergreen)
- Grasses
- Weeds
Primary symptoms are sneezing, runny nose, stuffy nose and itching. If you have these symptoms you should get allergy testing to rule out your allergies. There are different types of allergy testing such as skin prick and blood tests.
The goal of treatment is to reduce allergy symptoms caused by the inflammation of affected tissues.
The best "treatment" is to avoid what causes your allergic symptoms in the first place. It may be impossible to completely avoid all allergens to which you are sensitive, but you can often take steps to reduce exposure. Taking some allergy medicine and allergy shots are other treatment options for your allergies. |
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