PROBLEMS CAUSED BY RINITIS
Other problems that can follow on from rhinitis are allergic sinusitis and nasal polyps. The sinuses are air-filled cavitities in the skull which are lined with delicate membranes that link up with those lining the nose. Most cases of sinusitis – inflammation of these membranes – result from an infection in the nose that spreads outwards. But allergic reactions can also occur here. The main symptoms of sinusitis are a severely blocked nose, with a headache over the eyes, if the frontal sinuses are affected, or an ache in the cheeks if the maxillary sinuses are inflamed.
Prolonged irritation to the membranes of the nose and sinuses can result in swelling, and this may eventually produce nasal polyps in some people -small grape-like protrusions of the membrane. The polyps are harmless but they may obstruct the nasal passage making breathing difficult. The sense of smell can also be lost, and there may be symptoms similar to sinusitis if the opening between a sinus cavity and the nose becomes blocked. The polyps can be removed surgically if they do cause discomfort. For some inexplicable reason, many cases of nasal polyps are seen in people who are sensitive to aspirin.
One final problem that should be mentioned in connection with rhinitis is post-nasal drip (sometimes known by the general name ‘catarrh’. Excess mucus from the nose trickles down the back of the throat and thus into the trachea – the main tube leading to the lungs – to be coughed up later. Post-nasal drip can follow various infections, but it is sometimes allergic in origin.
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