They are lots of causes that lead to rhinitis symptoms. Some people may think they are as results of allergy although they are not.
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Infectious rhinitis: This is cold and flu and is usually caused by viruses but can be complicated with a bacterial infection. Its treatment is completely different, despite sharing most of the symptoms with allergic rhinitis.
- Hormonal rhinitis: This is associated with hormonal status changes such as pregnancy, puberty and menses.
- NARES syndrome: Non-allergic rhinitis with eosinophilia. This is a syndrome characterized by asthma, nasal polyps and aspirin insensitivity.
- Vasomotor or idiopathic rhinitis: This is believed to result from disturbed regulation of the autonomic nervous system, which controls the body functions without our consciousness such as breathing and heart beating. This disturbance causes the blood vessels that supply the nose to expand, resulting in congestion and draining of mucus. The exact reason of idiopathic rhinitis is unknown; however it is triggered by nonspecific factors - such as chemical irritants, environmental changes, humidity and strong smells.
- Anatomic rhinitis: Any anatomic abnormality of the nose can affect its functions and cause inflammation as well - for example, nasal septal deviation.
- Atrophic rhinitis (shrunken nasal tissue) due to thinning of nasal mucosa which is caused by different reasons like prolonged infection and aging. The patient will notice crusts in his nose, widening of nasal cavity as well as loss of smelling.
- Drug induced rhinitis: There are many medications cause congestion of the nose. For instance, topical decongestant (if you used them for a long time), oral contraceptives and some anti-hypertensive medication.
