【Health Science】Know yourself and your nose to protect your health

April 8, 2023 is "National Nose Care Day", and this year's theme is "Airway health starts from the nose". In spring, when the grass grows and the flowers bloom, many people suffer from itchy noses and sneezing. So how should we pay attention to our nasal health? Zhongdu Traditional Chinese Medicine will tell you:

Allergic rhinitis is one of the common diseases in the ENT department, and its main symptoms are nasal congestion, nasal itching, runny nose and sneezing. Because children cannot express themselves correctly, they often rub their noses and eyes, make faces, and have dark eye sockets, which leads some parents to think that it is just a bad habit, or that it is just a simple cold symptom that will go away after a while.

Spring is the peak season for allergic rhinitis. How should parents help their children cope with it?

1. What is allergic rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis is a nasal disease caused by IgE-mediated inflammation after an individual comes into contact with allergens. It is mainly caused by indoor or outdoor inhaled allergens. Common allergens in daily life include pollen, dust mites, dust, animal hair, etc. Parents can infer suspected allergens by observing their children's reactions after contact, and then try to reduce contact in life to help children avoid allergic rhinitis.

2. The difference between allergic rhinitis and cold

Because the symptoms are similar, parents often cannot tell the difference. The following picture will teach you how to easily distinguish allergic rhinitis from the common cold.

Allergic rhinitis:

1. Won’t cause fever

2. Symptoms may last for weeks or months

3. Accompanied by itchy eyes or nose

4. Perennial, with symptoms becoming more severe at the same time each year

cold:

1. Fever may occur at the same time as a cold

2. Usually no more than 7-10 days

3. Generally no itchy eyes or nose, no seasonality

3. The hazards of allergic rhinitis

The prevalence is high, complications are many, respiratory failure may occur, attention is affected, and the economic burden is increased. Allergic rhinitis worsens and may cause conjunctivitis, sinusitis, nose bleeding, otitis media, bronchitis, asthma, etc., and rhinitis may cause nasal congestion, mouth breathing, and sleep hypoxia, which may affect the child's facial development, memory, and attention.

Therefore, children's allergic rhinitis must be treated promptly!

4. How to treat allergic rhinitis

The treatment of allergic rhinitis usually includes nasal hormones, oral/nasal antihistamines, and immunotherapy, depending on the severity of the disease. Parents are advised to take their children to see a doctor in a timely manner and choose medications reasonably according to the doctor's advice. The "four-in-one" treatment principle includes environmental control, drug therapy, and immunotherapy. The treatment principle of allergic rhinitis is "combination of prevention and treatment, four-in-one" health education.

1. Environmental control: avoid or reduce contact with allergens and various irritants

2. Drug treatment: symptomatic treatment

3. Specific immunotherapy for causal treatment

4. Strengthen disease management and follow-up

5. Symptomatic drug treatment

The use of appropriate symptomatic drug treatment can quickly relieve the condition, but it cannot change the natural course of allergic diseases, such as: Chinese medicine, glucocorticoids, hormones, antihistamines, antitriamines, anticholinergics, and chromones.

6. Sublingual Immunotherapy

Specific immunotherapy is the first-line treatment for allergic rhinitis. Sublingual desensitization is recommended clinically for its ease of use, safety, and good tolerability, and is more suitable for younger children. So far, thousands of children with dust allergies have benefited from this treatment in our hospital.

The preventive effect of immunotherapy: It can greatly prevent the recurrence of the disease. Allergic patients who receive sublingual desensitization treatment have a 90% lower chance of developing new allergens than those who do not receive it.

※ Sublingual desensitization treatment lasts for 3 to 5 years, and the therapeutic effect can last for 7 to 8 years to prevent the disease from worsening.

※Sublingual desensitization therapy can prevent the transformation of allergic rhinitis to asthma and prevent the emergence of new sensitization.

How to achieve good results with immunotherapy:

※Choose standardized preparations

※Actively cooperate with post-management

※Timely symptomatic medication

※Sufficient desensitization treatment

7. Prevention of allergic rhinitis

1. Reduce the concentration of dust moths in the environment

2. Reduce exposure to pollen

3. Avoid other allergens

In addition, traditional Chinese medicine treatment plays an important role in improving the symptoms of allergic rhinitis and improving the quality of life. The traditional Chinese medicine therapies such as acupuncture and acupoint application carried out by Yiqiao Health Center in Wenshang County have a very good effect on controlling the onset of allergic rhinitis and alleviating symptoms.