Allergic rhinitis

The impact of allergic rhinitis is enormous; it accounts for significant he alth morbidity and a large financial expenditure. It can occur at any age, but its peak onset is in childhood. The natural course of this atopic disor der varies, but tends to improve with time. Genetic and environmental facto rs play a role in its development. There are effective treatments including pharmacotherapy and immunotherapy. Allergen avoidance is difficult, but sh ould be attempted. Future therapies will likely focus on downregulation of the Th2 immune phenotype and possibly upregulation of the Th1 response. Tre ating this condition is a daunting task; therefore, interventions to preven t atopy are appealing. Future therapies and studies will likely also focus on this issue, (C) 2001 Prous Science. Ali rights reserved.