I frequently get patients referred to me with severe, uncontrolled asthma despite being treated by numerous physicians. Unfortunately, these patients often have uncontrolled allergic rhinitis or chronic sinusitis that is worsening their asthma. Through aggressive care for their allergic rhinitis and/or sinusitis, I am actually treating their asthma. As a result, I often see that these patients notice a dramatic improvement of their asthma symptoms simply by treating their nasal symptoms.
Most people with asthma have allergic rhinitis, whether this is based on symptoms or biopsy findings from experimental studies. Many studies have shown that treatment of allergic rhinitis results in better control of asthma symptoms, as well as less asthma attacks in response to various triggers. In fact, a recent study showed that asthmatics that were treated with nasal steroids and/or oral antihistamines were much less likely to go to the emergency room or to be hospitalized for their asthma as compared to asthmatics not using these medications.
Find out if your asthma is controlled.
Source:
Corren J, et al. Rhinitis therapy and the prevention of hospital care for asthma: A case-control
study. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2004;113:415-9.
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