Chinese call it the “flying catkins season” (飞絮季), the time of year which hay-fever sufferers dread most. But the stuffiness, itching and runny nose has put one lady in hospital, after overuse of a presumed miracle cure for allergies such as this.
中国人称之为“飞絮季”，是一年中花粉症患者最害怕的时候。但一位女士在过度使用一种被认为能治愈此类过敏的灵丹妙药后，因鼻塞、瘙痒和流鼻涕而入院治疗。
This Monday morning, 10 April, the Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (耳鼻咽喉头颈外科就接) at Nanjing Gulou Hospital received a patient who had blindly used a much publicised, so-called miracle cure for her rhinitis.
4月10日星期一上午，南京鼓楼医院耳鼻咽喉头颈外科接诊了一位盲目使用大肆宣传的所谓灵丹妙药治疗鼻炎的患者。
Rhinitis, most commonly manifest as hay fever, is an inflammation and irritation of the nose’s mucous membrane. That’s what leads to the stuffiness and sneezing.
鼻炎，最常见的表现为花粉热，是鼻子粘膜的炎症和刺激。这就是导致鼻塞和打喷嚏的原因。
The lady, 20-something Ms. Song, was told by her parents since childhood that she has rhinitis. Undertaking online research and settling upon a Japanese treatment touted as a miracle cure, Song found that it indeed cleared her nose and significantly reduced sneezing with just a single spray.
这位女士名叫宋女士，今年20多岁，从小就被父母告知自己患有鼻炎。宋在网上进行了研究，最终选择了一种被认为是灵丹妙药的日本疗法，她发现这种疗法确实可以清除她的鼻子，并且只需喷一下就能显着减少打喷嚏。
But this year, when she took it out again during the past few days, Song found it to have no effect. She headed to Gulou Hospital, concerned that her body had become immune to the medicine.
但今年这几天，当她再次拿出来时，宋却发现没有效果。她前往鼓楼医院，担心自己的身体对药物产生了免疫力。
An examination revealed that her nasal mucosa had been damaged and there was an obvious redness and swelling in the nasal cavity.
检查发现，她的鼻粘膜已经受损，鼻腔明显红肿。
Yu Chenjie is Chief Physician, and an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist, with the Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at Gulou Hospital. He explained that when ordinary-chronic rhinitis turns into pharmaceutically-induced rhinitis, the treatment challenge significantly increases.
于陈杰，鼓楼医院耳鼻喉头颈外科主任医师、耳鼻喉科专家。他解释说，当普通慢性鼻炎转变为药物性鼻炎时，治疗的难度就会显着增加。
The ENT specialist said that for those who really can’t help but want to use such medicines, it should, for safety reasons, be only taken for about a week at most. Long-term use will worsen the effect, damaging the health of the nasal cavity, essentially becoming a form of chronic poisoning.
耳鼻喉科专家表示，对于实在忍不住想使用此类药物的人，为了安全起见，最多只能服用一周左右。长期使用会使效果恶化，损害鼻腔健康，实质上成为一种慢性中毒。
Yu reminds sufferers who feel they have rhinitis to seek medical attention in a timely manner, as there are many types of rhinitis; the symptoms may be similar, hut treatment methods differ.
于女士提醒，鼻炎的种类较多，一旦发现自己患有鼻炎，应及时就医；症状可能相似，但治疗方法不同。
As the Yangtze Evening News reports, the physician also went on to state that gently tapping and applying a cold press can effectively prevent and reduce allergic symptoms.
据扬子晚报报道，该医师还表示，轻轻拍打、冷敷可以有效预防和减轻过敏症状。
From past experience, March and April, together with September and October, are the times rhinitis comes to the fore in Nanjing. With the pollen and catkins in the air these days, more and more people have been seeking treatment in the City’s ENT departments.
从以往的经验来看，3、4月以及9、10月是南京鼻炎的高发期。这些天空气中弥漫着花粉和柳絮，越来越多的人到市里的耳鼻喉科寻求治疗。
In the case of Nanjing’s Gulou Hospital, the number of patients seeking medical attention due to allergies has almost doubled the past few days.
以南京鼓楼医院为例，这几天因过敏而就医的患者数量几乎增加了一倍。
