Asthmatic diseases have been reported since the ancient world. Hay fever for instance, was described for the first time in the late 18th century, and the term “allergy” was introduced about 100 years ago. Today the incidence of allergies is rising; almost one third of the Western population suffers from its side effects. Allergies are some of the most chronic medical complaints, which results in high health expenditures. Therefore, they have a large health and political relevance. Caused by genetic and environmental factors, the group of IgE mediated allergies is large. It consists of e.g. atopic dermatitis, allergic asthma or allergic rhinitis. This paper aims to emphasize the ways of early diagnosis of allergic rhinitis (AR) as AR represents the most important representative of allergic diseases in ENT.

GMS Current Topics in Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery; 7:Doc04; ISSN 1865-1011