Abstract
Objectives
In addition to general symptoms related to nasal congestion, common secondary symptoms of allergic rhinitis (AR) include headache, facial pain/pressure, and ear pain/pressure. The prevalence of secondary AR symptoms in U.S. children is described herein.
Methods
The prevalence of headache, facial pain/pressure, and ear pain/pressure in children with and without AR was studied in Pediatric Allergies in America, a national survey of parents of 500 children with current symptoms of nasal allergies and 504 children without nasal allergies (aged 4 to 17 years) among 35,757 U.S. households. Children aged 10 to 17 years were also interviewed, in addition to their parents.
Results
Parents report that the occurrence of headaches (55% vs 18%), facial pain/pressure (29% vs 3%), and ear pain/pressure (24% vs 5%) is more frequent in children with AR, compared with those without, respectively. These figures represent an approximately 3-fold increase in headaches, nearly a 10-fold increase in facial pain/pressure, and an approximately 5-fold increase in ear pain/pressure in children suffering from presumed AR, compared with children without AR. Furthermore, headache (59%; 63%), facial pain/pressure (53%; 54%), and ear pain/pressure (56%; 44%) were rated moderately or extremely bothersome by more than half of parents and older children (aged 10 to 17 years) who reported experiencing these symptoms, respectively.
Conclusions
The Pediatric Allergies in America survey suggests that children with presumed AR may suffer significant headache, facial pain/pressure, and ear pain/pressure from nasal allergy symptoms that are not shared by children without nasal allergies.
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