The Role of Aviation Medical Examiners in the Diagnosis, Treatment and Aeromedical Assessment of Patients with Allergic Rhinitis

Abstract

Since allergic rhinitis is a disease with a very high prevalence, it is common to find patients with allergic rhinitis among aviation workers. However, they are so afraid that the report of rhinitis will have a negative effect on the evaluation of one's work suitability. Therefore, aviation medical examiners (AMEs) must be able to accurately understand the nature of allergic rhinitis, and confidently explain that appropriate treatment of rhinitis has a positive effect on their performance. In the treatment of allergic rhinitis, there are some medications that may cause drowsiness, which may impair the accuracy and safety of the aviation service. Therefore, AMEs should accurately know safe drugs that do not cause drowsiness and prescribe them to patients. In addition, it is necessary to know exactly whether air workers may receive the latest treatments for allergic rhinitis, such as surgical treatment and immunotherapy, and be able to recommend these treatments appropriately. Therefore, in this paper, we first briefly describe the pathophysiology, genetics, causative antigen, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of allergic rhinitis. We also aimed to discuss safe medication and other treatment modalities for allergic rhinitis.