Who Is At Risk For Nonallergic Rhinitis & Is There A Blood Test For It?

Nonallergic rhinitis can significantly impact a patient’s quality of life. Although non-allergic rhinitis has typical symptoms similar to allergic rhinitis, apparently, it induces different triggers. In addition, the response to the treatment indeed differs. But what is nonallergic rhinitis?

Nonallergic rhinitis is a medical term that involves chronic sneezing or a congested, drippy nose and is diagnosed based on your symptoms and ruling out other causes, especially allergies. In a nutshell, it is an inflammation and swelling in the inside of the nose that isn’t caused by an allergy. It occurs without a known cause and induces symptoms such as Postnasal drip, runny nose and sneezing.

It is commonly noticed after the age of 20 and can significantly affect children and adults. Medical studies state that non-allergic rhinitis is a fairly distinct condition and depend on a range of factors that include environmental triggers such as dust, molds, pollens, grasses, trees, and animals. ^1.

Factors such as male sex, obesity, and other risk factors are often associated with an increased risk of non-allergic rhinitis in young adults. Apparently, this health disorder was much noticed in young adult patients. A medical study was conducted at the University of Verona in Italy on both men and women across all age groups.

The study revealed that the incidence rate was more stable among all age groups, ranging from 20- to 44-years-old in men. However, the rate of non-allergic rhinitis was highest among women. The reports showed that age and sex distribution have a greater onset of this disease in addition to environmental factors.

The other factors that increase the risk of nonallergic rhinitis include:

Environmental Factors- Environmental irritants are common triggers of nonallergic rhinitis. While some of the conditions are caused at home such as dust, hair spray, cleaning solutions, perfumes, most of them are caused in the workplace or outdoors. This involves cigarette smoking, metal salts, smog, wood dust, car exhaust, and others.

Age Is A Risk Factor- Few population-based studies have assessed the prevalence of this condition often in childhood apparently before 20. Several theories recommend that non-allergic rhinitis has been unrecognized, particularly in children.

Sex- Females are more susceptible during menstruation and pregnancy. They have a higher risk in developing this condition particularly in the population aged between 20 and 44 years

Health Conditions- Certain health conditions such as autoimmune diseases, genetic diseases, hormonal syndromes, and breathing diseases higher the risk of developing nonallergic rhinitis. ^{2. 3.}

Non-allergic rhinitis is often diagnosed based on their constitutional symptoms such as fatigue, malaise and headache. Your health care provider will first check on your symptoms if your symptoms pertain to cough or muscular pain. However, these symptoms are often related to viral infection.

However, on the other hand, if the reason is unknown, your doctor will suggest a blood test to determine for allergy or any other complications. Since both allergic and non-allergic rhinitis has similar symptoms, it becomes often necessary to perform allergy tests and blood tests to tell them apart.

Some of the tests carried out to diagnose non-allergic rhinitis include:

Blood Test- A blood test is performed to check if you have an allergy. If this is the case, your GP may refer you to allergy clinics to carry out more specific tests.

Skin Test- This involves a skin prick test or a patch test to check for reactions. An extensive systematic review on these tests helps us to find what substances (allergens) people are allergic to and rule out allergic causes. ^{4. 5.}

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Also Read:

• How Safe & Effective is Capsaicin in Treating Non-Allergic Rhinitis?
• Best Exercises/Activities For Non-Allergic Rhinitis
• How Common Is Non-Allergic Rhinitis Or Is It A Rare Disease?
• How Does Non-Allergic Rhinitis Affect The Body & What Triggers It?