Aim: To evaluate the prevalence and impact of allergic rhinitis in school going children. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the Department of ENT, Jannayak Karpoori Thakur Medical College, Madhepura, Bihar, India for 1 year. 200 parents of school going children attending OPD in community health center were included in this study. Participants were aged 20 years or above, currently residing in Bihar and parent/guardian of at-least one child aging 3 to 15 years, having frequent episodes of allergic rhinitis. Results: 74.5% of subjects responded that the child’s nose problem was worse during specific months of the year; and 60.5% said that the problem is accompanied by itchy–watery eyes. 90 patients found this eye-nose problem with a source of allergy. 17% of subjects agreed to this problem impacting daily activities and hence QoL. This study showed a prevalence of 30% for nasal symptoms and 15% for allergic rhino-conjunctivitis respectively. Distribution of symptoms showed that blockers constituted as much as 59.5% of the total study group. Moderate to severe persistent allergic rhinitis, as classified as per ARIA guidelines, was most common type of allergic rhinitis with as many as 35% of patients studied. Minimum 55% of subjects had one or more co-morbidity (mainly bronchial asthma 55%), whereas 21% children had 2 or more co-morbidities. Conclusion: The Indian population, especially children, suffering from prevalence of allergic rhinitis is increasing over past many years. Allergic rhinitis is associated with number of co-morbid conditions such as asthma, sinusitis, otitis media, etc.

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence and impact of allergic rhinitis in school going children. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the Department of ENT, Jannayak Karpoori Thakur Medical College, Madhepura, Bihar, India for 1 year. 200 parents of school going children attending OPD in community health center were included in this study. Participants were aged 20 years or above, currently residing in Bihar and parent/guardian of at-least one child aging 3 to 15 years, having frequent episodes of allergic rhinitis. Results: 74.5% of subjects responded that the child’s nose problem was worse during specific months of the year; and 60.5% said that the problem is accompanied by itchy–watery eyes. 90 patients found this eye-nose problem with a source of allergy. 17% of subjects agreed to this problem impacting daily activities and hence QoL. This study showed a prevalence of 30% for nasal symptoms and 15% for allergic rhino-conjunctivitis respectively. Distribution of symptoms showed that blockers constituted as much as 59.5% of the total study group. Moderate to severe persistent allergic rhinitis, as classified as per ARIA guidelines, was most common type of allergic rhinitis with as many as 35% of patients studied. Minimum 55% of subjects had one or more co-morbidity (mainly bronchial asthma 55%), whereas 21% children had 2 or more co-morbidities. Conclusion: The Indian population, especially children, suffering from prevalence of allergic rhinitis is increasing over past many years. Allergic rhinitis is associated with number of co-morbid conditions such as asthma, sinusitis, otitis media, etc.