Two complementary guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of allergic rhinitis are published in the August issue of the Allergy journal.
These guidelines are the result of a close cooperation between scientists, primary care professionals, and patients' organisations. GA²LEN, Global Allergy and Asthma European Network contributed to the guidelines representing European research in the field.
Allergic rhinitis is one of the most common chronic diseases with over 600 million people affected worldwide. More than 200 million of them also suffer from concomitant asthma. However, allergic rhinitis is generally under-diagnosed and under-treated.
Prof. Jean Bousquet, GA²LEN Vice-President and Chairman of ARIA, Allergic Rhinitis and Its Impact on Asthma, stresses that "neither allergic nor non-allergic rhinitis are trivial disorders. They significantly impair patients' daily quality of life, school and work performance. Moreover, people with allergic rhinitis have a greater risk to develop asthma and many patients with rhinitis already have asthma as well. Although patients come with a complaint about their nose, asthma too must be checked by the doctor."