Get rid of that itch!

" Hay fever" is often used to describe " allergic rhinitis" which affects 10 to 20% of the population. Allergies are manifested in various ways, one being allergic rhinitis.
Symptoms and Signs
Allergic rhinitis is at best a nuisance and at worst can be incapacitating. So how do we know if we are suffering from this condition? Usually, if you have two or more of these symptoms for more than an hour on most days: runny nose, blocked nose, sneezing. You may have a postnasal drip, loss or decreased taste and smell, nose bleeds and itchy nose, ears and eyes. Other symptoms that are complications include sinusitis, ear infections, cough, sore throat, headache, generalised fatigue, snoring, irritability and altered sleep patterns.
Allergic rhinitis is classified into 'intermittent' or 'persistent' which may be 'mild' or 'moderate-severe', depending on duration and how much it interferes with the sufferer's quality of life. Allergens in Namibia
The most common allergen here is grass pollen. The grass pollen season commences December/January and reaches a peak in March/April depending on the rainy season. A slight increase also comes in October. Prosopis tree pollen is also an allergen during October/November and is found abundantly in Windhoek, Okahandja, Omaruru, Gobabis and Rehoboth, but not in the wetter north-eastern parts. At the coast, house-dust mites are the most common inhaled allergen while moulds and cockroach allergens are present throughout Namibia. The mica dust in Namibia is a severe irritant and does not cause a true allergy.
Diagnosis
This is based on your doctor taking a good history, performing a thorough clinical examination and requesting or performing appropriate investigations. These allergy tests include skin-prick testing as well as blood tests. Experience is needed interpreting these test results. It is essential that allergy testing is done, especially in children with suspected allergic rhinitis, since many conditions can mimic the signs (e.g., adenoidal enlargement, nasal polyps, chronic infective sinusitis, longterm misuse of topical decongestant sprays or drops, anatomic abnormalities and foreign bodies).
Management
This involves a combination of environmental therapy (avoidance of the proven causative allergens), pharmacotherapy (antihistamines and nasal sprays) and immunotherapy (desensitisation; making the immune system 'used' to the specific allergen as not to 'over-react' to it on exposure).
The latest antihistamines are very effective and have few side-effects, but don’t help for the blocked feeling. For the latter a topical steroid nasal spray should be added.
Immunotherapy is done by means of specific drops that are used daily under the tongue for three years. It is the only treatment that can change the natural history of allergic rhinitis, prevent progression of the disease and cure. The patient should however be very carefully selected, be motivated to continue for three years with the treatment and preferably be allergic only to grass pollen or house dust mite - the allergens that cannot be avoided easily.
Summary
Allergic rhinitis is a growing problem in Namibia and is under-diagnosed, not properly investigated and under-treated. It causes significant impairment of the quality of life of patients. There are many very effective treatments available which can completely control the symptoms of allergic rhinitis.