What is Allergic Sinusitis?
Allergic Sinusitis is a genetic disease that can cause complaints in all age groups after an exposure to a triggering factor. It is a disease with a course characterized by symptoms such as recurrent sneezing spells, nasal congestion, itchy nose, and coughing. Allergic rhinitis can be diagnosed by a doctor, based on the patient’s complaints and examination results.
Asthma and sinusitis are the most feared long-term consequences of allergic sinusitis. The risk of progression of allergic rhinitis to asthma is between 25 and 30%, while the risk of its progression to sinusitis is between 45 and 60%. Therefore, some people today refer the disease as allergic rhinosinusitis.
Surgical Treatment of Allergic Rhinosinusitis
In cases where the patient has also nasal septum deviation, nasal concha hypertrophy, nasal polyp and treatment-resistant sinusitis, surgical treatment of these diseases is a necessity. Surgical interventions cannot treat the allergy, but when they eliminate the mechanical problem, it becomes easier to fight the allergen; and consequently, the patient’s general complaints decrease by 40-60% on average.
Sinusitis surgery in the treatment of allergic rhinitis is now performed within a much shorter time, using certain new technological devices. The patient can be discharged the same day of the surgery or can stay in the hospital overnight, and can go back to work on the third or fourth postoperative day if he/she wishes.
However, allergic skin tests to be performed in conjunction with the surgical treatment and the subsequent precautions and treatments can make it possible to avoid allergic rhinitis complaints for years.
The right diagnosis and the right treatment enable patients to get rid of this disease, which sometimes make them feel like giving up and make their life unlivable. It should be remembered that allergic rhinosinusitis is not an incurable disease.