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Rhinitis, not a condition to be trivialized, can have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life and has a significant burden on the healthcare system.1 Symptoms like sleep disturbance and daily fatigue, along with inappropriate use of antihistamines, can result in impaired performance at school and work.2
Rhinitis is generally divided into two groups: allergic and non-allergic. It has been estimated that allergic rhinitis affects 400 million people globally,3 while non-allergic rhinitis is thought to affect more than 200 million people worldwide.2 There is evidence showing that those numbers are on the rise.3
Fortunately, test results provide the much-needed information to providers looking to correctly diagnose and treat their patients, and to the patients looking for relief from this intrusive condition. These results, along with a physical exam and medical history, can ensure that patients receive proper treatment sooner, as well as helping reduce avoidable antihistamine use.4
Making the distinction between allergic and non-allergic rhinitis5*
*Nearly 2/3 of patients prescribed antihistamines for their reported allergic rhinitis have symptoms that are not due to allergy.
Several guidelines exist that aid clinicians in the creation of personalized management strategies for patients with rhinitis. These guidelines may recommend or promote the use of IgE testing—specific IgE in blood and/or skin prick test (SPT)—in combination with the findings from a patient history and physical exam to differentiate between allergic and non-allergic rhinitis.
UK Guidelines: British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI)
Clin Exp Allergy. 2008;38:1-42
ARIA Guidelines: Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines—2016 revision
Brożek, Jan L. et al. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 140;4, 950-958.
Diseases and conditions such as asthma, sinusitis, and otitis media share a similar etiology with allergic rhinitis, as such, healthcare providers have the opportunity to expedite the delivery of an accurate diagnosis and the development of an effective management plan that reduces the risk for these comorbidities.1
The guidelines available to healthcare providers recommend that allergic rhinitis be managed with a combination of patient education, allergen avoidance, pharmacotherapy, and immunotherapy.1,6 Patient education is such a critical component, it is important that providers have as much specific information as possible about the allergens to which a patient is sensitized. This can help patients better understand what is causing the symptoms, what is happening inside the body, how the treatment approach was chosen, and how to achieve the best results from it. In fact, research has gone so far as to say that allergy education has the potential to improve a patient’s disease-specific quality of life.1
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