What is the long-term treatment for allergic rhinitis?

Question

Hello doctor,

My father is 46 years old and has been suffering from allergic rhinitis for several years. He frequently experiences sneezing, nasal congestion, and watery eyes, especially in the morning or when exposed to dust.

His symptoms worsen during seasonal changes and sometimes disturb his sleep due to a blocked nose. He uses antihistamines occasionally, but the relief is temporary.

What long-term treatments help control allergic rhinitis symptoms, and can allergy testing help identify triggers?

Please help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have gone through your query and understand your concern.

Based on the symptoms, this does look like allergic rhinitis (the immune system's overreaction to inhaled allergens like pollen, dust, or pet dander, causing nasal inflammation), but to confirm it, the first step is to do a complete blood count and check total IgE (immunoglobulin E) levels to see if this is truly an allergic reaction.

If these values are elevated, the next step would be more specific allergy testing, such as the ALEX (allergy explorer) test, which helps identify the exact allergens (like pollen, dust, mites, etc.) triggering the symptoms.

Once the cause is known, a targeted treatment can be started, particularly ASIT (allergen-specific immunotherapy), which involves giving very small, gradually increasing doses of the allergen to train the immune system to tolerate it.

This treatment is usually done outside of acute symptom periods and can significantly reduce or even eliminate symptoms long-term.

In addition, it is important to reduce exposure to triggers, ventilate living spaces regularly, use saline nasal sprays, and take antihistamines if needed, but the main focus should be on proper diagnosis and cause-based treatment.

I hope I have answered your question.

Let me know if I can assist you further.

Thank you.