allergic rhinoconjunctivitis

What is it?
What are the symptoms?
What we can confuse an allergic rhinitis?
What is the cause?
Is there more than one type of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis?
What is your relationship with bronchial asthma?
What is your treatment?
What is it?

It is called allergic rhinitis or allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (RCA) to all processes affecting the nostrils (nose) and the conjunctiva of the eyes, caused by hypersensitivity to various substances in the environment.

It can occur at any stage of life, but it becomes evident from 5-6 years of age.

What are the symptoms?

The classic symptoms of RCA are:

A nasal level: obstruction or stuffy nose, mouth breathing, rhinorrhea (runny nose) liquid and transparent, itching (much rub the nose) and sneezing, often several at a time, and saved.
A level conjunctival redness of the eyes, swollen eyelids and even water bags on the eyes and itching.
Not all symptoms have to be present and, sometimes, only the nasal manifestations appear.Top of page

What we can confuse an allergic rhinitis?

Some parents think their child may have RCA when it really presents a catarrh of the upper airways. For example, while sneezing are typical of the RCA in older children, those are very common in infants and indicate only the presence of a nasal catarrh. Fever may be a symptom of colds, but is not usual in the RCA. These doubts can be resolved easily pediatrician. Anyway we can be of assistance, in the case of the pollen rhinoconjunctivitis (caused by pollens), symptoms appear or are more intense in open areas and especially in the afternoon and evening.

What is the cause?

RCA is the cause of allergy some particles found in the environment (allergens). According to the region in which you live, the probability of being allergic varies: in northern Spain, the most common allergy is to house dust mites and center-south pollens (grasses, olive, shrubs ...) .

The doctor will determine in each case whether it is necessary to do some testing, although usually careful questioning about symptoms often leads to the cause that produces this process.Top of page

Is there more than one type of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis?

RCA perennial with symptoms year-round and seasonal, typically spring and due to pollens RCA: In general two types are identified.

What is your relationship with bronchial asthma?

They are very interrelated diseases, but different. Today it is considered that when a child has been diagnosed with one of them, should be investigated if you have the other. Actually, both represent the same inflammatory and allergic phenomenon, at different levels of the airway.

What is your treatment?Top of page

Pediatrician who will determine what is the most appropriate treatment for your child RCA. We distinguish three types of treatments:

Avoiding contact with the trigger, ie, preventive treatment. Aims to reduce the degree of contact with allergens, such as, by way of example, proper housecleaning and the use of special cases if allergic to mites -for these measures to be effective must be permanent-. Or, the advice to avoid afternoon stroll in sunny spring day and especially if they are also windy and travel with the windows closed in vehicles, in the case of allergy to pollen.
Treatment with medicines symptoms. There are medications to relieve ocular and nasal, very effective and with little or no side effects manifestations. These medicines can also be used early, ahead of the season onset of symptoms, especially in the case of spring rhinoconjunctivitis.
"Vaccines" desensitizing (immunotherapy). There are conflicting data on its efficacy and generally unnecessary.