Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypesSymptomsTriggersCauses and Risk FactorsDiagnosisHow Is Nonallergic Rhinitis Treated?Nonallergic Rhinitis ComplicationsNonallergic Rhinitis PreventionNonallergic Rhinitis and PregnancyWhen to Contact a Healthcare Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types
Symptoms
Triggers
Causes and Risk Factors
Diagnosis
How Is Nonallergic Rhinitis Treated?
Nonallergic Rhinitis Complications
Nonallergic Rhinitis Prevention
Nonallergic Rhinitis and Pregnancy
When to Contact a Healthcare Provider
It’s possible to have both allergic rhinitis and nonallergic rhinitis. About 34% of people with rhinitis have both allergic and nonallergic types. If you take allergy pills and they address some of your symptoms but not all, you may have nonallergic rhinitis too.
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Types of Nonallergic Rhinitis
Vasomotor Rhinitis
Gustatory Rhinitis
Hormone-Induced Rhinitis
Female hormones can cause congestion and other nasal symptoms, known as hormone-induced rhinitis. This iscommon during pregnancy, especially in the second trimester.
Nonallergic Rhinitis with Eosinophilia
This type of nonallergic rhinitis causes nasal symptoms and an increased white blood cell (WBC) count, known aseosinophilia. Healthcare providers aren’t sure what causes this type of rhinitis, but it’s linked toinflammationandmast cells, and it may result from problems with the immune system and an autoimmune disorder.
Atrophic Rhinitis
Atrophic rhinitis happens when themucusglands in the nose atrophy, or waste away. This causes dryness and crusts in the nose that can lead to congestion.
Senile Rhinitis
Senile rhinitis happens in older individuals. When the mucus glands in the nose aren’t working well, they leave the nasal passages too dry.
Rhinitis Medicamentosa
Infectious Rhinitis
Nonallergic Rhinitis Symptoms
The symptoms of nonallergic rhinitis are:
These symptoms can be long-lasting, which is why nonallergic rhinitis is also calledchronic rhinitis.
What Triggers Nonallergic Rhinitis?
Healthcare providers don’t always know what causes allergic rhinitis. But if you have the condition, keep track of your symptoms and try to find a pattern related to your triggers.
Nonallergic Rhinitis Causes and Risk Factors
Healthcare providers aren’t sure exactly what causes nonallergic rhinitis.Although anyone can develop nonallergic rhinitis, factors contributing to its occurrence include:
Nonallergic Rhinitis Diagnosis
Before your healthcare provider can diagnose you with nonallergic rhinitis, they have to rule out other causes of rhinitis.To do that, they’ll ask you how long your symptoms have been present, and when they flare up.
The healthcare provider will likely examine your nose too, since there are visual differences between the nose of someone with allergic rhinitis and that of someone with only nonallergic rhinitis.
Then, you’ll likely need testing including:
The best way to control nonallergic rhinitis is to avoid triggers. Treatments will also vary based on the type of nonallergic rhinitis that you have.
However, there are some treatments that can help, including:
Nonallergic rhinitis can take a toll on day-to-day living and make you uncomfortable. Luckily, it’s not usually associated with complications. Talk with your healthcare provider about whether there are any particular complications that you should be looking out for.
There’s little you can do to prevent nonallergic rhinitis. However, once you identify your triggers—like spicy food or dry air—you can try to avoid them in order to reduce your symptoms.
Lots of people experiencenonallergic rhinitis during pregnancy. If this happens to you, talk with your healthcare provider about how to relieve symptoms.
If you experience nonallergic rhinitis, working with your healthcare provider can help you find solutions. If you experience symptoms of rhinitis that don’t respond to remedies like avoiding triggers and using nasal sprays, reach out to a healthcare provider.
Summary
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Scarupa M D, Kaliner M A.In-depth review of allergic rhinitis.World Allergy Organization. October 2020.MedlinePlus.Nonallergic rhinopathy.Tran, Nguyen P, John Vickery, and Michael S Blaiss.Management of rhinitis: Allergic and non-allergic.Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research. doi: 0.4168/aair.2011.3.3.148.Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Nasal allergies (rhinitis).NCH Healthcare System.Nonallergic rhinitis.
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Scarupa M D, Kaliner M A.In-depth review of allergic rhinitis.World Allergy Organization. October 2020.MedlinePlus.Nonallergic rhinopathy.Tran, Nguyen P, John Vickery, and Michael S Blaiss.Management of rhinitis: Allergic and non-allergic.Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research. doi: 0.4168/aair.2011.3.3.148.Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Nasal allergies (rhinitis).NCH Healthcare System.Nonallergic rhinitis.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Scarupa M D, Kaliner M A.In-depth review of allergic rhinitis.World Allergy Organization. October 2020.MedlinePlus.Nonallergic rhinopathy.Tran, Nguyen P, John Vickery, and Michael S Blaiss.Management of rhinitis: Allergic and non-allergic.Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research. doi: 0.4168/aair.2011.3.3.148.Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Nasal allergies (rhinitis).NCH Healthcare System.Nonallergic rhinitis.
Scarupa M D, Kaliner M A.In-depth review of allergic rhinitis.World Allergy Organization. October 2020.
MedlinePlus.Nonallergic rhinopathy.
Tran, Nguyen P, John Vickery, and Michael S Blaiss.Management of rhinitis: Allergic and non-allergic.Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research. doi: 0.4168/aair.2011.3.3.148.
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.Nasal allergies (rhinitis).
NCH Healthcare System.Nonallergic rhinitis.
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