Allergic rhinitis

The WHO (World Health Organisation) now classifies allergic disease as the fourth most important chronic disease in the world¹.

Respiratory allergies, triggered by a reaction to a substance (the allergen) in the air we breathe, pollen, house dust mites, animal hair, etc., have doubled² in the space of twenty years (1986-2006).
It is increasingly the reason for visits to the doctor. Faced with this trend, prevention and treatment of the disease have become major public health issues.

• 1 in 4 people suffer from respiratory allergies³
• 500 million people in the world suffer from allergic rhinitis⁴, of whom 15 to 20% have severe symptoms⁵

Classification of allergic rhinitis⁴:

In 2008, a new classification was developed by the ARIA consensus (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) in order to characterise rhinitis and its impact on the quality of life according to its duration (intermittent or persistent) and the severity of the symptoms:

•    Persistent rhinitis occurs 4 days in the course of a week and for 4 weeks in the year
•    Intermittent rhinitis occurs less than 4 days per week and for less than 4 weeks per year.
•    Moderate-to-severe rhinitis: incapacitating symptoms accompanied by discomfort during day-to-day, work or school activities as well as disruption of sleep.
•    Mild rhinitis: minimal symptoms having little impact on sleep and day-to-day life.

Whether intermittent or persistent, allergic rhinitis is distinguished above all by its resistance to symptomatic treatments.

Diagnosis makes it possible to determine the degree of the disease and define a management strategy on the basis of its severity.

Download ARIA 2008 pocket guide

http://www.whiar.org/

¹ Vervloet D.et al. Consensus et perspectives de l'immunothérapie spécifique dans les maladies allergiques. La Lettre (Supplément à la Revue Française d'Allergologie et d'Immunologie Clinique) 1997; 37 (2): 4-5.
² Demoly P. Les allergies. Arnaud Franel Éditions, 2001.
³ Bauchau. et al. Epidemiological characterization of the intermittent and persistent types of allergic rhinitis. Allergy 2005: 60: 350-353
⁴ Bousquet J. et al. Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA).Allergy 2008: 63 (Suppl. 86): 8–160
⁵ White P. et al. Symptom control in patients with hay fever in UK general practice: how well are we doing and is there a need for allergen immunotherapy?.Clinical. And Experimental  Allergy. 1998 : 28 : 266-270