The Link Between Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your airways. Your airways are tubes carrying air in and out of your lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways will become swollen and narrow. This makes them very sensitive, and they may react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating.

Allergic rhinitis is a diagnosis associated with a group of symptoms affecting the nose. These symptoms occur when you breathe in something you are allergic to, such as dust, animal dander, or pollen. Allergic rhinitis symptoms can also occur when you eat food that you are allergic to.

Signs and Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of asthma include shortness of breath, cough (especially early in the morning or at night), wheezing, and chest tightness.

It can be difficult to determine allergens on your own so it is best to contact an allergist. Skin prick test is the most common method of allergy testing but a blood test or a radioallergosorbent test (RAST) could also be used for the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis.

Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis is considered to be a risk factor for asthma development.  People with allergic rhinitis have a three times higher chance of developing asthma. Interestingly, the relief of allergic rhinitis symptoms over time is associated with the improvement of asthma symptoms. People with severe and repeated rhinitis are at greater risk of developing asthma. The incidence of asthma and allergic rhinitis also increases with age.

Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) was a study done in collaboration with the World Health Organization to study the link between the two conditions and create guidelines for medical professionals for diagnosis and treatment. The 2001 study stated that allergic rhinitis is an extremely prevalent disease that affects 10-25% of the global population and can have a significant impact on the quality of life, work/school performance, and even put an economic burden in terms of the direct cost of illness in terms of treatment and indirect ways like the inability to work.

The ARIA study proposed that allergic rhinitis should be considered a risk factor for asthma and those with persistent allergic rhinitis should be evaluated for asthma by history, chest examination, and assessment of airflow obstruction before and after using a bronchodilator. It also suggested that those with asthma should be evaluated for allergic rhinitis as sometimes people might not recognize the symptoms.

Allergic Rhinitis Treatment

The best treatment is to avoid the pollen that causes your symptoms. It may be impossible to avoid pollen completely but you can often take steps to reduce your exposure. Allergic rhinitis treatment includes antihistamines, corticosteroids, decongestants taken as tablets, capsules, and inhaled medications.

If you have asthma along with allergic rhinitis, you may find difficulty in breathing or feel tightness in your chest. The purpose of medications is to prevent symptoms like these from happening. A variety of inhalers are available to help control symptoms.

Many inhaled medications are prescribed to be used daily to keep your airways healthy, even if you do not experience symptoms all the time. This is part of managing the condition and prevents it from getting worse. With inhaled medications, the medicine is delivered directly to your bronchial tubes, helping to open your airways. Also, these medicines have fewer side effects than others taken by mouth or by injection. There are three basic types of devices that deliver inhaled medications – metered-dose inhaler (MDI), nebulizers, and dry powder inhalers (DPIs). The most common of these is the metered-dose inhaler (MDI).

No matter which you use, getting the medication to your lower airways is essential for the medication to work.

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