DYSFUNCTIONS WITH SYMPTOMS SIMILAR TO COLD: ALLERGIC RHINITIS OR HAYFEVER
When cold symptoms seem to persist for longer than fourteen days, the cause is more probably an allergy than a virus. Symptoms of allergic rhinitis include itchy, red, watery eyes which often swell; frequent sneezing; an itchy, runny nose; and a tickle in the back of the throat. The cause is hypersensitivity to an allergenic substance of which the most common are pollens, mold, animal danders, feathers, hair, household dust or chemicals, fungi, food preservatives and coloring, and such foods as beef, eggs, yeast, wheat, corn, chocolate, citrus or dairy products.
Allergic rhinitis may also be caused by prescription or OTC drugs.
The most common form of allergic rhinitis is hayfever, which is caused by pollen from trees and grass in spring, and ragweed in late summer and early fall.
Allergic rhinitis occurs when the immune system makes an exaggerated response to a foreign substance such as those just described. The immune system then responds to an allergen as though it were a disease-carrying invader. Histamine is released in the nasal passages which creates inflammation and congestion and excessive discharge of watery mucus from the fragile mucous membranes lining the nasal passages and sinuses. Simultaneously, B cells may begin to manufacture antibodies against the imaginary foe.
The entire immune system often mounts an attack against the allergen comparable to that invoked by the common cold. Soon, the overzealous immune system is partially out of control. Billions of antibodies bind to the surface of mast cells in the nasal passageways. When allergens enter the nose, these cells explode, releasing more histamine to further amplify the rhinitis cycle.
Symptoms occur in the form of brief fifteen- to thirty-minute allergy attacks. Allergic rhinitis is most common at ages under forty and in persons having other allergy problems like asthma or eczema. It can be relieved by remaining indoors during the pollen season and by removing all sources of offending allergens from the house. Medical treatment is available but is not always successful. Since allergic rhinitis is caused by an exaggerated immune response, the one best way to end it permanently is to adopt the therapies for bolstering immunocompetence.
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