Q: I am a 40 years old man who gets cold easily. Whenever I am exposed to cold air or wash my hands and legs with cold water I get a cold and start sneezing. I also get chest congestion followed by heavy breathing. Sputum collects in my chest and it becomes difficult to breath. I used to take Asthalin expectorant for years together but now I have stopped it for the last year. I jog and walkdaily. The average temperature in my city is 30 degree C. Please advise.

A:The symptoms seem to be those of vasomotor rhinitis/ allergic rhinosinusitis. The main thing would be to prevent exposure to sudden changes of temperature. Other than that antihistaminic tablet and nasal spray can be taken for 3-6 weeks, and as and when needed. You would need assessment by a CT sinuses and Nasal endoscopy to see if you are a surgical candidate or not. But even after sinus surgery, the hyper reactivity of the nose would persist.