Allergy season: Experts advise precautions

Note high prevalence of allergic rhinitis among Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD: As allergy season starts in Pakistan, health experts have advised precautionary measures against allergic rhinitis – hay fever – which affects 24.62 per cent of Pakistanis.

In a press briefing arranged here, Capital Hospital E.N.T. Associate Surgeon Dr Jawwad Ahmed, said that hay fever often precedes the development of asthma.

He explained that hay fever symptoms appear when one breathes in something to which one is allergic, and the inside of the nose becomes inflamed and swollen.

Allergic rhinitis is clinically defined as a symptomatic disorder of the nose and is characterised by nasal symptoms including rhinorrhoea (runny nose), sneezing, nasal blockage, and itching of the nose.

“Allergic rhinitis is an important health problem because of its prevalence and its impact on patients’ social lives, school performance, and work productivity. The symptoms are not limited to the physical effects on the nose and eyes, but also involve adverse consequences to quality of life, including psychological well-being and the ability to learn and process cognitive input,’ he added.

He added that mixed cases of rhinitis and asthma (24.86%) and allergic rhinitis alone (24.01%) were the major allergic disorders in the province of Punjab. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he added, the mixed cases of rhinitis and asthma (21.89%) and bronchial asthma alone (26.69%) were the first and second most common allergic diseases. Allergic rhinitis was on top (27.92%) in Sindh province, Dr Ahmed said.

Social Security Hospital Associate Professor, Dr Safdar Nawaz, said allergic rhinitis reduces the learning ability of children, explaining that 88% of pediatric AR patients have sleep disorders.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2016.