Comics/Yu Ningshan
Changsha Evening News All-Media Reporter Ryan Yang Correspondent Song Xi Yang Ling
When we entered the solar term in beginning of winter, the temperature dropped, and most citizens felt unwell. Some of them had symptoms such as sneezing, stuffy nose and itchy nose. The number of patients who went to the emergency department of the hospital to see "colds" suddenly increased, most of whom were children and the elderly.
Symptoms of itchy nose, sneezing and runny nose must be a cold? Zhang Junjie, director and chief physician of the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Changsha First Hospital, said, not necessarily, sometimes it may be allergic rhinitis. According to statistics, the current prevalence rate of allergic rhinitis in China is 11%, and the total number of patients exceeds 150 million. Prevention is the key to allergic rhinitis that is difficult to heal.
The child’s "cold" is allergic rhinitis.
Zhang Junjie introduced that a child who came to see a "cold" was admitted to his clinic on Monday. As soon as she entered the consulting room, the child’s mother asked, "Doctor, my son Xuanxuan (pseudonym) has caught a cold in the last six months. Is he in poor health?" I took him to the community hospital. I have been taking cold medicine, but it has no effect. Why? " Hearing Xuanxuan’s mother’s words, Zhang Junjie had a little doubt. Is the child really catching a cold? Are there any other diseases? After detailed inquiry, it turns out that every time the child gets sick, he has a stuffy nose, sneezing, runny nose, and sometimes a little itchy nose. There is no headache, fever, cough and other related symptoms. The symptoms are obvious when he gets up in the morning and basically relieved at noon. Combined with allergy-related tests, children suffer from allergic rhinitis instead of a cold.
"The child is ten years old. Why didn’t he have allergies before?" Xuanxuan’s mother still has doubts. Zhang Junjie explained that the onset of allergic rhinitis is related to many factors, such as sunlight, cold and heat, climate change and changes in air humidity, which can all induce allergic rhinitis; Hyperneurosis and violent mood swings caused by various reasons can also induce allergic rhinitis.
"Xuan Xuan has a younger brother. Will allergic rhinitis be transmitted to his younger brother?" Xuanxuan mother asked. "Allergic rhinitis is not contagious and will not be transmitted to others, but allergic rhinitis is related to heredity." Zhang Junjie said that clinically, patients with allergic rhinitis often have obvious family history, and Xuanxuan’s younger brother may have allergic rhinitis in the future.
Most allergic rhinitis has no systemic symptoms.
Autumn and winter are the high season of allergies, especially when the weather turns cold, the temperature difference between morning and evening is large, the weather is dry, and the nasal cavity is easily affected by external irritants, leading to allergic rhinitis. Zhang Junjie introduced that allergic rhinitis is a disease in which allergic inflammation of nasal mucosa occurs after susceptible individuals are exposed to allergens. The main cause of the disease is that allergens enter the body. Common allergens include pollen, dust mites, molds and domestic pets. If we don’t pay attention to it, allergic rhinitis will extend to the depths, further causing asthma, sinusitis, secretory otitis media and so on.
There is a difference between allergic rhinitis and cold. Common cold, commonly known as "cold", is mostly caused by virus infection, also known as acute rhinitis or acute upper respiratory tract infection. It is one of the most common infectious diseases of human beings, mostly occurring in winter and spring, with no allergic reaction, mostly sporadic, which can be prevalent in a small scale when the climate changes suddenly, and the symptoms are mostly sneezing, nasal congestion, runny nose and so on. Some symptoms are similar to allergic rhinitis. However, most colds are accompanied by cough, dry throat, itchy throat, burning sensation, and even dripping sensation after nose. In severe cases, there are fever, mild chills and headache. A cold is contagious, mainly spread through the air by sneezing of patients and droplets containing viruses, or through contact with contaminated hands and utensils.
Most allergic rhinitis is not accompanied by systemic symptoms and is not contagious. According to the duration of the disease every year, it can be divided into perennial allergic rhinitis and seasonal allergic rhinitis. Perennial allergic rhinitis, the symptoms of which last for more than 9 months every year, are mostly caused by indoor allergens, such as dust mites or their feces; Seasonal allergic rhinitis begins every pollen spreading season, and the onset season is basically the same every year.
Allergic rhinitis is mostly related to genetic and environmental factors, mostly children and young adults, and there is no obvious difference in the incidence ratio between men and women. The typical symptoms are mainly sneezing and watery nasal discharge, followed by stuffy nose, itchy nose and itchy eyes. Some patients have a temporary sense of smell loss. The disease can also be complicated with bronchial asthma, allergic pharyngitis, allergic conjunctivitis and other diseases. If children often rub their eyes and nose, they should consider allergic factors.
There are also differences in treatment between the two. If you are diagnosed with a cold, you need to use antiviral and anti-infective drugs according to the symptoms, and pay attention to rest, strengthen nutrition and exercise; If it is allergic rhinitis, local or systemic use of antiallergic drugs can obviously change the symptoms.
Prevention is the key to allergic rhinitis that is difficult to heal.
"The most important thing about this disease is to avoid contact with allergens." Zhang Junjie said that if people are allergic to pollen, they should reduce going out and wear masks and glasses when going out; Those who are allergic to dust mites should keep the indoor environment clean and dry, ventilate in time, and clean sheets and quilts regularly to reduce dust mites; People who are allergic to animal dander can’t keep pets. When the symptoms are obvious, nasal or oral antiallergic drugs can be used according to the doctor’s advice, and immunotherapy can also be used. Patients who seriously affect their work and study can be treated by surgery.
In addition, we should avoid falling into the misunderstanding of allergic rhinitis in prevention and treatment. For example, some people think that only children will suffer from allergic rhinitis. In fact, people of any age may suffer from this disease. Treating allergic rhinitis as a cold by mistake will not only reduce the symptoms, but also delay the treatment cycle; When allergic rhinitis symptoms appear, some patients will use decongestants in large quantities to quickly relieve the symptoms of nasal congestion. In fact, this kind of drugs can improve the ventilation of nasal cavity in a short period of time when they are used for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, and the clinical continuous use time is generally less than 7 days. Long-term continuous use is not only ineffective, but also may cause drug-induced rhinitis.
"Prevention is the key to allergic rhinitis that is difficult to heal." Zhang Junjie said that at present, there is no complete cure for the disease, and only drugs or surgery can improve symptoms or reduce the frequency of symptoms. There are many ways to treat allergic rhinitis, besides drug treatment, non-drug treatment such as external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine, surgery and desensitization treatment can also be carried out. Prevention is the most important thing. In the prevention of allergic rhinitis, the most important thing is to stay away from allergens. Pay attention to the change of temperature and keep your nose warm when changing seasons; Wash the nasal cavity regularly to wash out the particles that may cause allergies and reduce allergic reactions; You can also prevent allergic rhinitis through non-drug therapy of traditional Chinese medicine such as acupoint application.
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