Stop sneezing and sniffling.

Approximately 50,000,000 Americans suffer from itchy and inflamed nasal passages caused by allergic rhinitis. For many, these symptoms often are compounded by difficulty in breathing, headache, and heightened fatigue.

Allergies and the common cold produce similar symptoms--sneezing, stuffiness, runny nose, itching, and postnasal drip. A multitude of viruses can cause the common cold and its nasal symptoms, as well as fever, sore throat, aches, and chills. A physician easily can distinguish between allergy and cold by checking the color of the nasal tissue and the nature of the mucous discharge. Once the diagnosis of allergy has been made, skin tests with suspected allergens help the doctor make a specific diagnosis and pinpoint the allergens responsible.

Patients who suffer from allergic rhinitis may be sensitive to one or more substances--such as pollen, dust mites, mold spores, and animal dander--that serve as nasal irritants and/or allergy triggers. Avoiding exposure to these triggers, which vary from person to person, is of prime importance in preventing an allergic reaction. Since most common ones are in the air, it is not always easy to avoid them and still lead a normal, active life.

The underlying process reponsible for allergic rhinitis is inflammation. When exposed to airborne allergens, IgE antibodies in the cells of the lining of the sinuses and nasal passages bind with them. IgE leads to the breakdown of some of the millions of mast cells in the nasal tissues and the release of chemical mediators such as histamine and prostaglandins. These mediators cause inflammation of the lining of the nose, congestion, itchy palate, and watery eyes.

For years, antihistamines--so called because they work to block the release of the chemical mediator histamine, thought to be a primary mediator in sinus allergies--and decongestants...

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