Skin Sensitivity Pattern in Allergic Rhinitis in a Hilly Population

To study the allergic profile in patients of allergic rhinitis in a hilly population.

Prospective, analytical and a clinical study in a tertiary hospital setting

Forty patients diagnosed as allergic rhinitis on clinical history and forty controls were subjected to intradermal skin tests for various common allergens and results graded as per notified criteria.

Intradermal skin tests are a reliable diagnostic tool in identifying the allergen responsible for causing allergic rhinitis. When the group-wise reactivity of allergen groups was calculated, house dust mite was found to be the most reactive; followed by insects’ group and then by pollens. It was also inferred that with increasing age, severity of reactions decreased correspondingly. In addition, many patients had allergies to multiple allergens.

House dust mite is the most common allergen causing allergic rhinitis in the hilly population studied. Though quite a few patients had multiple allergies, but the skin reactivity to allergens decreases with increasing age.