1. Determine Whether Environmental Factors May Be Causing Symptoms
Given that there are only two types of rhinitis--vasomotor and allergic--one might think that it would be easy to make a concrete diagnosis either way. However, given the need for slightly different treatment regimens and the differences in the pathology of the two kinds of rhinitis, it's important to identify your type correctly. Your first step should be to rule out whether any allergens in your immediate or proximal environment may be causing your symptoms, which can include sinus headache, rhinorrhea (drippy nose), congestion, dizziness and swelling of the nasal membrane.
Some doctors recommend a process of elimination. Remove potentially offending allergens one at a time and see how your body reacts. When you're away from a particular pet that gives off lots of dander, do your symptoms go away? What happens to you during "hay fever season"? Do you react with rhinitis symptoms like most of the population? If so, you may indeed have the allergic form of rhinitis. If not, maybe your symptoms emerge due to arbitrary changes in weather or pressure. In this case, you may have vasomotor rhinitis.
2. Rule Out One or the Other Type of Rhinitis
If you first develop your symptoms when you're young and you're male, you're statistically more likely to have allergic rhinitis. If, on the other hand, you first develop symptoms as an adult and you're female, you're statistically more apt to have the vasomotor variety. An allergist may order tests, such as "scratch tests" or blood tests of serum IgE and eosinophil counts to help identify triggers of the symptoms, which may in turn shed some light on which type of rhinitis you may have.
3. Consider Your Response to Medications
Antihistamines should work to relieve allergic rhinitis, when properly targeted. These drugs generally do not, however, work to treat vasomotor rhinitis, since they work on the immune system. Similarly, decongestant sprays may relieve the symptoms of allergic rhinitis but may actually make vasomotor rhinitis conditions more severe. Consult your doctor to help you parse your symptoms further, and bear in mind that vasomotor and allergic rhinitis can be found together in many patients.
