Allergic Rhinitis For the very first time, recently conducted studies have shown that people ailing from hay fever i.e. allergic rhinitis, would now go through worst conditions in their nasal passage functioning. But it also depends on how long the patient has been suffering from this disorder, says the latest study which has been published in the June 2008 edition of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

The study has been conducted by researchers in Italy and has found that out of 100, 50 patients were suffering with short-term rhinitis and 50 with long-term rhinitis. Patients who have been suffering through long term bouts of such a disorder, for example on an average of nine years, had considerable airflow in their nasal passages. Moreover, 72 percent of the patients suffering with long-term rhinitis suffered “severe” nasal difficulties.

The allergic rhinitis causes skin redness and swollen membranes in the nasal passages along with sneezing and congestion. Around 10 to 20 percent of the American population suffers from hay fever and approximately 2 percent of the patients visit doctor’s clinic.

The study’s authors are Giorgio Ciprandi, MD; Ignazio Cirillo, MD; Angela Pistorio, MD; and Stefania LaGrutta, MD. They all are associated with San Martino Hospital, in Genoa, Italy.