How do you deal with seasonal allergies?

Y’know, that’d make a great teevee commercial…

How do you deal with seasonal allergies?

:laughing:

Sudafed isn’t an antihistamine, its just a decongestant FYI.

You’re right. I was quoting the wrong “name”. What I take is a generic Benadryl. Thanks for the correction.

I have allergic asthma and do Claritin in the morning, Zyrtec at night during the worst allergy times (May & June).

I’ve just started using Flonase and it’s amazing.

The rest of the year I go through a bottle of Claritin then I switch to Zyrtec and then switch back so I don’t build up a tolerance for either one (hopefully).

I don’t do Sudaphed because of the side effects (dopey).
I don’t do Benadryl because I’ve heard that it may increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s.

I keep both of them around for emergency use though. My son tripped on something and landed on ragweed or something just as bad and his face started swelling up like he was rapidly decompressing. Had to chance the Benadryl on that occasion.

Ah I figured that’s what you meant to say. That stuff knocks me out and is great for motion sickness… my go-to for long flights but can’t use for allergies for obvious reasons.

Cold meds with diphenhydramine (the active ingredient) are great for getting rest too.

Bonus tip: For any nausea/motion sickness where you don’t want to be drowsy ginger extract is incredible.

Flonase twice a day every day of the year. Zyrtec and Singulair at bed time. Allergy eye drops and neti pot. Had 10 plus years of allergy shots.
Yep, I got it bad.

I can’t offer any advice, my allergy symptoms disappeared several years ago. Don’t know how or why.

Worse reaction of my life was 30+ years ago outside Buckingham palace in spring. There is/was a park full of some kind of tree blooming that nearly hospitalized me. I literally ran for my life to get away from that park.

Bloody queen never apologized! Lol

Never use any injection-type drugs (even if someone predics that they can will help you for long time) - they are not safety.
Do not use pills until you havent tried right scheme with various effect nosal spreys.
Allergy symptoms are the reaction of your body to the allegren that is already inside your blood.
To prevent them, you need to reduce amount of tiny dust that can go inside with every breath.
I am deviding 3 different steps of allergy:

  1. from march to november (or actually every time when temperature is above zero celsius) I am using special nosal sprey that consist tiny amount of ectoine and salt water. Advertisment says that it will make a super nano coating in your nose and this will help. I never believe such statements but it actually works. You need to use it every time 10-20min before you go outside or into place with big amount of old dust. If I hear motor scythe through open window - I also use it.
  2. from some date in june or july, there is already reasonable amount of allergen inside me and nasopharynxes start to inflammate. I have to add another sprey that includes mometasone furoate.
  3. Last mid of august and first mid of september are the worth time in my area. Human-height weed grass, in combination with populus down that can bring pollen to 17th floor - sometimes I regret why I dont wear respirator outdoors. This is the time when I have to use regular pills with antihistamine. I dont have enough knowledges to understand why it is so but I can defently say that when I take them for one month only they work much better this month neither if I take them from march to november.

Antihistamine is go-to treatment every year.
I was asthmatic when I was younger, so Clarytin, Zyrtec and so on were mandatory.
Now it’s Desloratadine (don’t know if you have this in USA), from April to August. One pill a day and I’m free to breath !

avoid medication.

eat natural fruits that contain antihistamine… like pineapple :slight_smile:

also need exercising + swimming :slight_smile:

I work outside, so I have the opportunity to launch snot-rockets all day if necessary.

At home I have a box of tissues in close proximity or a hanky in my pocket.

Steroid shot from the clinic relieves my symptoms for about two weeks. I only get allergies for a month down here where I am at. Ragweed usually September

LOL isn’t that the primary ingredient in PURPLE DRANK?

I’m from Canada and one of the driest cities ever - Calgary. We get pummeled by dust, dirt and degrading organic matter all spring and then when the pollen finally hits in June my body loses it.

I currently take Aerius in the morning then on bad evenings top it off with Benadryl PM or night time to aid in sleeping.

I spoke with my doctor about it who gave me a prescription nasal spray, a steroid inhaler to strengthen my system over the initial 2 weeks of hell when everything is at it’s worst and told me that you can get a prescription strength Reactine.

He said very specifically that nasal sprays if used for multiple days in a row rapidly create negative systems and cause a lot of issues. He advised they should only be used a couple days in a row and to try and use them only before bed when allergies affect sleep.

I see a lot of people recommend Neti-pots which I’ve never tried before because I read the risk of infection caused by flushing your sinuses is very high. They sell them everywhere so they have to work but I’ve just stuck to pills so far

+1

More than 40 years suffering from seasonal allergy…

I always treated it symptomatically with a very low dose Benadryl (diphenhydramine) syrup until it became difficult to get in my country.

Since then I make a decoction of peeled and chopped roots of ginger and drink it several times a day.

I also consume, whenever I can, pineapple.

When the allergy is very strong I take a 5ml dose of Benadryl that I get from Argentina.

I have been recommended a neti pot (they have squeeze bottle versions which are easier to use too) by my GP for even sinus infections.

Just make sure to use bottled - or preferably - distilled water. It’s saline solution so should be the closest thing you can get to a sterile rinse if the water you mix with is good.

I figured the info I came across in the past was a little biased as I read a large number of posters here vouching for them.

lol google your symptoms - find out your dying or should have died 8 minutes ago
google your medication - find out 857 have died from taking it in the last 4 minutes
google a medical tool like neti pot - find out you’ll get flesh eating disease in your sinuses

Yeah boiling the water you use is always an option too. I do microwave mine to the point where it’s too hot and then just let it cool down, that makes sure the saline packet dissolves really quickly and completely too.

LOL seriously though!

Welcome to BLF
Come for the flashlight advice
Stay for the medical advice!

And jackets.

And knives.

And watches.

And mail order brides.

And condoms.

Wait……I need to start the last two topics! :confounded: