How do you guys deal with allergies and hay fever?

[fuzzybabybunny]

When laying down to sleep, my nose is constantly stuffed and I have to breathe through my mouth. When I'm up and about I'm constantly sneezing and with a runny nose.

Fexofenadine doesn't do anything for me. Claratin seems to be OK (less runny nose) but it is ineffective for nasal blockage.

Do people with hay fever actually take a mix of Claratin + Nasal Decongestant every single day? I'm traveling in New Zealand and I don't think I've ever encountered an allergic reaction this annoying and self-sustaining...

 

[Exterous]

Nasonex and fexofenadine seem to work pretty well for me. It usually takes a couple of days to ramp up to its most effective. Sometimes I'll jump start the process by using Afrin a couple of hours before using Nasonex for a couple of days. I think that helps because the afrin clears out most of my congestion meaning less junk gets in the way of Nasonex but IANAD

I have also found that having an air filter running in the bedroom helps a lot but that doesn't sound like an option for you

 

[chitwood]

been taking a zyrtec almost every day for the past 8 years

 

[Ken g6]

Claratin seems to be OK (less runny nose) but it is ineffective for nasal blockage.

For nasal blockage, the best pill is probably guaifenisin + peudoephedrine. You can get both in a brand-name product called "Mucinex D". But they're not the best idea at bed time. Nasonex/Nasacort-like products help too, if you take them for a few days.

For runny nose, a prescription antihistamine nasal spray called Astelin is helpful. I still can't believe Nasacort is OTC, and Astelin isn't.

 

[mikeymikec]

For years I've either had hayfever-type symptoms through spring and summer, then when the weather got colder I'd get a runny / blocked-up nose the rest of the time, so it seemed like I would constantly have problems breathing through my nose.

Admittedly my symptoms have changed dramatically this year (I've experienced almost no hayfever), but one unrelated thing I noticed was that when I once got a heavy cold and sounded like a chainsaw at night with my snoring, that propping my head with two pillows rather than my normal one made enough of a difference that I could breathe properly at night and so sleep much better. I picked up the idea from some Internet forum; apparently it encourages better circulation of some sort (I can't remember the details). I've tried going back to one pillow since but I can breathe better when using two.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Thanks for all the info. So it's OK to take these two drugs pretty much daily during the entire allergy season?

 

[richardycc]

neti pot, I got this one from Amazon, it's the best, its huge and the angle is perfect.
http://www.amazon.com/Yogis-NoseBud...d=1446492029&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=noisebuddy

 

[Matthiasa]

I've been getting allergy shots for over a year now...
Almost all allergy related treatments will be every day, and sometimes several times a day.
For the now otc stuff I take fexofendadine (Allegra), flonase and occasionally benadryl.
For prescription I have montelukast (Singulair) and Olopatadine Hydrochloride.

If you have a doctor talk to them about it.

 

[midwestfisherman]

Zyrtec FTW

 

[BurnItDwn]

Allergies and Hay Fever are for the weak, therfore, I do not have allergies or hay fever. Problem solved. Do not catch allergies and hay fever, if anybody with allergies or hay fever comes near you, dont touch them, and make sure you wash your hands. You do not want to catch allergies! Of course they will always say to me "but brian, you are crazy, you can't "CATCH" allergies, and I say, yes, this is true, I am strong enough that allergies will never harm me, but many other people, they are not. So, this advice is for them.

 

[angminas]

Do you have a good air purifier?

 

[herm0016]

benadryl almost every day.

 

[BoomerD]

I don't...I'm not so defective that Mother Nature makes me suffer.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

I decided not to be born with such allergies.

 

[Matthiasa]

I wasn't born with allergies, I developed them, along with asthma, when I was still in high school due to the foods I was eating a little to regularly back then...

 

[pete6032]

During allergy season I get bad hay fever. I would take Zyrtec 24 plus an antihistamine like Allegra. I didn't have any problems with that combination over a period of several months.

 

[nakedfrog]

Zyrtec for me (well, the generic Kirkland equivalent).

 

[gorcorps]

There's a lot of different allergy drugs, all with slightly different active ingredients, so you might need to find what's best for you. Zyrtec is probably the best I've found for nasal congestion, so if you don't want to take two drugs try zyrtec instead of Claritin for a week and see if it helps. But yes... you might need to take it every day during the bad parts of the season.

 

[Gibsons]

Nasonex or nasocort daily, then zyrtec whenever there's a flareup or the potential for one (for me, after a rain usually).

 

[futurefields]

quit eating bad foods, quit smoking, quit your sedentary lifestyle

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I decided not to be born with such allergies.

Don't be smug about it, they can strike later in life. I was born without them and lived a long time without them, then they popped up about a year ago. I went from not affected at all to clawing my eyes out almost overnight. Luckily mine are controlled pretty well by a daily generic Claritin.

 

[Kneedragger]

I grew up having a lot of allergy problems. About four years I started allergy shots and it's the best thing I ever did for myself. I hardly need an allergy pill now..

 

[zerocool84]

Nasacort nasal spray works great for me. You can get it OTC.

 

[dogen1]

I used to have allergies quite bad, but since I changed my diet a few years ago they've almost entirely disappeared...