The hyper responsiveness of the nasal mucosa to Japanese cedar pollen was categorized as either sensitivity and the reactivity. Sensitivity was judged on the basis of a clinical evaluation of the first day of nasal allergic symptoms. The first day of nasal allergic symptoms was dependent upon the threshold point of the nasal allergy patient. The Japanese cedar pollen count is small at the beginning of the allergy season and increases day by day over the year. The first days of nasal allergic symptom occurred over a period of two months, evidencing individual patient variability. Accordingly, the allergy patients were divided into a high sensitivity group and a low sensitivity group.
Reactivity to allergen challenge was evaluated by the nasal provocation test, and patients were divided into a high response group and a low response group on the basis of symptom degree and amount of sneezing. The patients were challenged by the nasal provocation test once a day for six days. Reactivity increased day by day. These results suggest that the increasing of reactivity is dependent upon the repetition of allergen challenges.
In conclusion, the severity of nasal allergy symptoms depends on both individual sensitivity and reactivity. There is no relationship between sensitivity and reactivity in allergic hyper responsiveness.
