What are the dietary taboos for allergic rhinitis?

There are actually not as many dietary taboos for allergic rhinitis as there are on the Internet. There is only one core one - absolutely avoid foods that are clearly known to trigger your own allergic reactions. There is no need to blindly follow other so-called "universal taboo lists".

Not long ago, I met a little girl who had suffered from allergic rhinitis for three years. She said that she had not dared to touch a bite of iced watermelon in the past three summers, and she did not even dare to smell seafood. She said that the Internet said that these were "hairy foods" and "cold foods" that would aggravate rhinitis. As a result, she still got sick when the seasons changed. She burst into tears every time she sneezed. After doing an ingestible allergen screening, she found that the only food she was allergic to was peanuts, and all the things she was tabooed before were white taboos. Do you think it was a loss or not?

Many patients around me have this misunderstanding at the beginning. When they get rhinitis, they first block all the taboo foods that are reported on the Internet. In fact, many of the opinions here are controversial. For example, the most controversial question is whether you can eat raw or cold food. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that raw and cold food will deplete Yang Qi. If you have a cold-deficiency rhinitis, you will have runny nose and cold hands and feet when the cold wind blows. Eating iced drinks may indeed irritate the nasal mucosa and induce symptoms. ； But if you are usually afraid of heat and get angry easily, and you may have yellow runny nose when rhinitis attacks, it is perfectly fine to eat something cold. There is no need to forcefully quit. There are also "foods" that everyone talks about, such as seafood, beef and mutton, which are traditionally believed to aggravate inflammatory reactions. However, the view of modern medicine is that as long as you don't have clear allergic reactions such as itchy nose, sneezing, or rash after eating, the high-quality protein in these foods can help you regulate your immune status and reduce the frequency of allergic attacks. There is no need to deliberately fast at all.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to avoid dietary taboos at all. For example, if you are experiencing a rhinitis attack and your nasal mucosa is swollen like a water-filled sponge, you are several times more sensitive than usual. At this time, don’t bother eating spicy hot pot or hot skewers that are hot out of the pot. Two weeks ago, there was a young man whose rhinitis had just gone away. He was craving for spicy butter hot pot. That night, he had a stuffy nose and stayed up all night. Even his conjunctiva was swollen. The spicy food irritated the nasal mucosa, which had not fully recovered, and only made the symptoms worse. Friends who often eat processed foods should also be careful. Many people are not allergic to the food itself, but to additives such as nitrites in pickled foods, artificial colors in snacks, and preservatives. If your rhinitis worsens every time you eat packaged braised food or pre-prepared vegetables, you may want to look through the ingredient list, and you may be able to find your hidden allergens.

To be honest, the dietary taboos for allergic rhinitis really vary from person to person. Someone else’s taboo list may be of no use to you. If you are really unsure, it is better to get an ingestion allergen test. It is much more useful than blindly restricting food for half a year. After all, being able to eat what you like comfortably and not suffering from rhinitis is the most important thing.