Allergic rhinitis is similar to asthma, except in one respect.
Whereas in asthma an airborne substance causes an allergic or hypersensitive reaction in the lungs and chest, the reaction in allergic rhinitis occurs in the eyes, nose and throat. No one knows why certain people are hypersensitive to an otherwise harmless pollen grain or other airborne particles. You may be allergic to house dust - or, rather, to the mites that infest the dust. You sneeze frequently, your nose runs and your eyes are red, itchy and watery. Rubbing the eyes makes them worse.