Effects of intranasal phototherapy on nasal microbial flora in patients with allergic rhinitis.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of intranasal phototherapy on nasal microbial flora in patients with allergic rhinitis. This prospective, self-comparised, single blind study was performed on patients with a history of at least two years of moderate-to-severe perennial allergic rhinitis that was not controlled  by  anti-allergic drugs.  Thirty-one  perennial  allergic rhinitis  patients  were enrolled in this study. Before starting the test population on their intranasal phototherapy, the same trained person took a nasal culture from each subject by applying a sterile cotton swab  along  each  side  of  the  nostril  and  middle  meatus.  Each  intranasal  cavity was irradiated three times a week for two weeks with increasing doses of irradiated. At the end  of  the  intranasal phototherapy,  nasal cultures were again obtained  from  the  each nostril The study found that after intranasal phototherapy, the scores for total nasal symptoms decreased significantly but bacterial proliferation was not significantly different before and after phototherapy. We  have  shown  that  intranasal  phototherapy  does  not  change  the  aerobic  nasal microbial flora in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis.