Allergic rhinitis, also called hay fever, is resulting from environmental irritants like pollen or dust mites.

Exercise forces you to breathe in higher volumes of air, in turn increasing your exposure to rhinitis-causing irritants.

Exercise-induced vasoconstriction is triggered by the release ofadrenaline, a hormone your body produces during times of stress.

Woman running in park at dusk

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Causes of Rhinitis With Exercise

Nasal mucus serves a few important purposes.

For one, it keeps your nasal passages lubricated.

A runny nose ensues so you can rid the irritant from your body.

Exercise causes you to breathe deeper and faster and take in larger amounts of air.

During exercise, you draw in more air and potentially more irritants.

Between 27% and 74% of athletes are known to have some jot down of rhinitis.

Depending on the allergen you are sensitive to, you may experience allergic rhinitisseasonallyor throughout the year.

Treatment

Treatment for allergic rhinitis begins with identifying the allergen behind your body’s allergic response.

Nonallergic Rhinitis

The exact genesis of nonallergic rhinitis is unknown.

Unlike allergic rhinitis, NAR is not an allergic reaction and therefore does not involve the immune system.

Nonallergic rhinitis is diagnosed through a process of excluding other conditions first.

If the trigger is found, you’ll need to avoid it.

There is no cure for nonallergic rhinitis.

Treatment involves managing symptoms and avoiding irritants that trigger them.

Allergic rhinitis is triggered by allergens in the environment.

A healthcare provider can diagnose the cause of rhinitis and recommend treatment.

Rhinitis is treated with various kinds of nasal sprays.

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