LOCAL THERMOTHERAPY OF ALLERGIC RHINITIS

Abstract

In recent years, local thermotherapy (41-43°C) has been conducted for the treatment of cancer. An increasing number of investigators in Japan and abroad have found this therapy to be effective also for allergic rhinitis and rhinitis associated with viral infections.
Nasal thermotherapy uses Rhinotherm, an apparatus which aerosolizes distilled water at about 43°C. We recently introduced and tested this apparatus in our facility.
Intranasal inhalation was conducted for 15min. once a week in 10 patients with perennial allergic rhinitis and 5 healthy volunteers without allergic rhinitis. The two groups were subjected to nasal airway resistance determination, nasal smear test and nasal provocation test before and after thermotherapy. Data obtained from the two groups were compared. Rhinotherm was used in the rhinitis patients and volunteers after ensuring in a pre-study in a 27-year old healthy female volunteer that the intranasal temperature increases up to 41 to 43°C.