Bush Beats Plus Vol-9, No-2, 2023

One of the global health concerns is allergic rhinitis which affects 400 million people worldwide. Approximately, 25% of children and 40% of adults are affected by it.1 Allergic rhinitis (AR) is described by symptoms such as nasal congestion/obstruction, rhinorrhea, sneezing and pruritus resulting from dysfunction of the nasal mucosa and/or nasal inflammation.2 About 80% of AR symptoms occur before the age of 20 years and they peak between 20–40 years. Over the first 5 years of life, incidence rate of AR among children is reported to be 17.2%. Additionally, the incidence rate of AR in children with the peak age at diagnosis between 24 and 29 months is 2.5%.1 In India, approximately 22% of adolescents currently suffer from AR.

The human microbiota consists of trillions of bacteria that live in the oral cavity, respiratory tract, skin and gastrointestinal tract, and most of them are located in the intestine.1 There is a body of research that have studied the gut microbiota extensively and have shown that it plays a crucial role in human health by modulating the immune system, controlling metabolism and brain function. Dysbiosis, an imbalance in the gut microbiota early in life, has been found to be associated with the occurrence of various diseases later in life.2 Several studies have been conducted over the last decade to determine the link between the microbiota and allergic diseases in children. The results suggest that altering the gut microbiota plays an important role in promoting these allergic diseases.