Rhinitis treatment

Both allergic and nonallergic rhinitis cause congestion. You can help relieve pressure and reduce congestion by:

• Rinsing your sinuses: Rinsing your sinuses with distilled, sterile saline rinses mucus, irritants, and allergens from the nose and can relieve congestion. You can use a squeeze bottle or a neti pot—a small container with a spout that goes into the nostril and delivers saline into the nose. In order to prevent potentially serious infection, you should always use water that’s distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered. You should also rinse the bottle or neti pot after each use with sterile or filtered water and leave it to air-dry.
• Using sterile saline nasal spray: Sterile nasal sprays, such as Ayr, can similarly irrigate the nose, flush out irritants and allergens, and help relieve congestion. If you find using an irrigation device uncomfortable, a nasal spray may be an easier alternative to a squeeze bottle or neti pot.

Over-the-counter medications used to treat allergies include:

• loratadine (generic Claritin)
• cetirizine (generic Zyrtec)
• fexofenadine (generic Allegra)
• triamcinolone (generic Nasacort)
• budesonide (generic Rhinocort)

Rhinitis medication

There are both over-the-counter and prescription medications that can be used to treat allergic and nonallergic rhinitis symptoms.

You should discuss your child’s treatment options with your healthcare provider, as not all medications are approved for use in children. As always, read labels carefully and take all medication as recommended or prescribed.

Rhinitis prevention

The best way to prevent rhinitis¹⁵ is to avoid your allergens and triggers.

You can take these steps to prevent exposing yourself to allergens that may trigger hay fever symptoms:

• Avoid touching or rubbing your eyes and nose
• Wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water (or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer when these aren’t available)
• Keep pets out of the bedroom to reduce pet dander in your bed and clothes
• Keep windows and doors closed during allergy season
• Shower and wash clothing after outdoor activity to remove contamination with pollen
• Avoid the outdoors on dry, windy days (rain helps clear pollen from the air)

Whether you have allergic or nonallergic rhinitis, keeping your environment clean may help eliminate the allergens or irritants that trigger your symptoms.

Take these steps to maintain a healthy indoor environment:

• Wash bed linens and pillowcases in hot water and detergent, or use hypoallergenic pillows and mattress toppers
• If you are looking into getting a pet, consider a number of hypoallergenic breeds of dogs, cats, and other household pets
• Use air conditioning in your house and car to help keep air circulating
• Keep indoor air dry with a dehumidifier
• Use a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter in high-traffic rooms
• Clean floors with a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter