Allergic Rhinitis, Conjunctivitis, and Sinusitis

Allergic rhinitis is an IgE-mediated inflammatory response in the nose to foreign substances known as allergens. It can be classified as seasonal or perennial, depending on the allergens triggering the reaction. This characterization is good for identifying allergen triggers but is limited because it is based on the duration of outdoor exposure (e.g., grass pollinates for 2 months in Chicago and nearly 11 months in Texas). Also, some perennial allergens, such as dust mites, have seasons. The Allergic Rhinitis in Asthma (ARIA) classification was developed to focus on therapy. It assumes that exposure to perennial and to seasonal allergen leads to the same immunologic response. ARIA places patients into the categories of mild intermittent, mild persistent, moderate/severe intermittent, and moderate/severe persistent to recommend treatment and emphasizes the link between allergic rhinitis and asthma.1 This review contains 5 figures, 12 tables, and 59 references. Key Words: Sinusitis, infection, allergy, antibiotic, decongestant, antihistamine