Do You Have Allergic Rhinitis?

I'll try to keep the posts here as simple as possible, meaning as little technical terms as possible. I assume that most people aren't doctors and scientists and would like to get information and at the same time, do away with all the scientific terms.

Definition : MedlinePlus defines Allergic Rhinitis as "a collection of symptoms, predominantly in the nose and eyes, caused by airborne particles of dust, dander, or plant pollens in people who are allergic to these substances." I guess that's a pretty fair definition.

Symptoms : Common symptoms include runny nose, blocked nose, watery eyes, headache, itching, depreciated sense of smell and sneezing.

If you have Allergic Rhinitis, at least you know that there are steps you can take to minimize the undesirable effects of it. If you think you might have Allergic Rhinitis, then this site may be useful for you as a general reference and hopefully, you'll get a chance to take a skin-prick test to confirm your suspicion.

When your nasal passages becomes inflammed, it is known as rhinitis. If you body happens to be overly sensitive to particles/allergens such as dust, and this in turn causes the inflammation, then it is possible that you have Allergic Rhinitis.

When this inflammation happens, you are likely to have symptoms like runny nose, blocked nose, watery eyes and sneezing, just to name a few common ones.

I used to have runny nose almost every morning. Sometimes, when it is really bad, the runny nose will just continue throughout the day! I must have used boxes of Kleenex back in those days, and nasal discharge (clear and transparent liquid, very thin, almost like water) would literally be dripping from my nose! I'll be having lectures or lessons and I'll be periodically rubbing my nose with a piece of tissue paper. Dripping nasal discharge on your lecture notes isn't a nice way to start the day!

Also, when I come into contact with dust, I'll start sneezing in a matter of seconds. Serious! I could double up as a dust detector already. You can guess that cleaning my room is no where near my favourite activity. Of course, all these have already changed for the better, and I could say my lifestyle is only mildly affected by Allergic Rhinitis these days!