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There are five different types of nonallergenic rhinitis including acute rhinitis, chronic rhinitis, atrophic rhinitis and vasomotor rhinitis. This inflammation of the mucous membrane that lines the nose will usually show up as a runny or stuffy nose and in most cases is caused by an infection. Rhinitis of any type may be chronic or acute and the most common part of the upper airway that is affected is the nose. Chronic or long standing rhinitis is caused, in most cases, by smoking, allergies or air pollution. But in some cases it can also be causes by infections like tuberculosis, rhinoscleroma, rhinosporidiosis, syphilis, leprosy, histoplasmosis, blastomycosis and leishmaniasis since all of these infections are known to destroy the soft tissue, cartilage and bone in the nose. Symptoms may include a runny nose, blocked nasal passages, nose bleeds and discharges of pus.
Acute rhinitis is often cause by a variety of bacteria or viruses while atrophic rhinitis occurs when the mucous membrane thins and hardens causing a widening of the nasal passages that is believed to be caused by bacterial infections. Vasomotor rhinitis is thought to be caused by allergies and causes swollen blood vessels in the mucous membrane which in turn causes the symptoms that can be continual or intermittent. With this type of nonallergenic rhinitis the nose will become over responsive to stimuli such as pollutants, temperature changes, humidity changes, some foods or medicines and even some emotions. It is not uncommon for vasomotor rhinitis to appear during pregnancy or in those taking estrogen medications. With atrophic rhinitis the wasting of the mucous membrane is known to result from aging, extensive nasal surgery and bacterial infections. Symptoms of this disorder will often include a persistent nasal infection, loss of the sense of smell, unpleasant odor and a discharge that dries to a crust.
The symptoms of acute rhinitis are usually treated by over the counter drugs such as pseudoephedrine by mouth or phenylephrine as a nasal spray. In order to treat chronic rhinitis a doctor must first identify the micro-organisms that are causing the infection. To do this the doctor will take a sample of the nasal discharge or in some cases, a biopsy. The treatment will depend on the type of micro-organisms that are identified. Atrophic rhinitis is usually treated to eliminate the odor and crusting around the nose. This is done with antibiotics, such as bacitracin nasal spray, to kill the bacteria, estrogens, vitamin A and vitamin D that is either sprayed directly into the nose or taken orally to help promote mucous secretion. Occasionally surgery will be done or a narrowing of the nasal passage will be done with a pad of lambs wool. This is done to reduce the crusting by decreasing the air flow to protect the thinned mucous membranes.
With vasomotor rhinitis, which appears intermittently and tends to worsen in drier air, the treatment is increased humidity by the use of a humidified central heating system or a vaporizer. But for this treatment to be totally beneficial it must be used both at home and at work. Unlike nonallergenic rhinitis, allergic rhinitis, which affects close to ten percent of the population, is a condition that is caused by exposure to specific allergens.
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