Runny and Blocked Nose: A Sign of Nasal Allergy Problems?
We’ve all had one of those days when our noses feel congested and blocked up with watery secretions and nasal discharge! But what if your blocked and runny nose keeps on happening everyday and just doesn’t seem to go away? Itchy eyes and itchy nose are also some common symptoms of nasal allergy or allergic rhinitis, in addition to the blocked nose and runny nose. Sneezing is a typical sign of nasal allergy problems too. At our busy ENT Clinic in Singapore, our experienced ENT doctors in Singapore see many patients who suffer from blocked nose and runny nose, often caused by allergic rhinitis (nasal allergies).
Having a nasal allergy means that your nose is super sensitive to things around you in the environment so that your nose reacts in an exaggerated manner, leading to swelling of the sausage-shaped soft tissue (turbinates) inside your allergic nose. The nasal lining then produces a lot of watery mucus which can flow down the back of your nose to irritate the throat to cause a cough or sore throat, literally a “runny nose from the back”.
The number one reason for nasal allergies (allergic rhinitis) to develop is a reaction to house dust mite (HDM), a tiny creature which lives in the layers of dust around your house. In fact, it’s actually the house dust mite’s droppings which often trigger people’s nasal allergies, leading to sneezing, runny nose, blocked nose, itchy eyes and itchy nose. So if your nasal allergy symptoms keep flaring up, the wise thing to do is to have an allergy test to test for house dust mite allergy, in addition to many other common allergy triggers, such as pollen, grass, cat and certain moulds. The allergy test can be performed either as a skin prick allergy test or an IgE blood test at our ENT clinic in Singapore. The results allow our ENT doctors in Singapore to guide you towards sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) which aims to desensitise your body and nose against the house dust mite so that a longterm cure for allergic rhinitis is now potentially possible. SLIT wasn’t readily available in ENT clinics in Singapore more than a decade ago but is now commonly used to treat house dust mite nasal allergy problems in Singapore.
So stop ignoring your nasal allergy problems by saying it is “normal”: It clearly ISN’T normal to constantly suffer a blocked nose and runny nose so please head down to your friendly ENT clinic in Singapore to have your nose carefully examined, as well as have an allergy test done!
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