Allergy season is kicking in for me, and I got hit really hard today. For those of you that get hit with allergies, what do you do to handle them?

The cough i just deal with it. My itchy, watery eyes, i use Naphcon A. Basically, over the counter drugs works for me.

I have tried both Zyrtec and Claratin, neither has worked for me.

aleve

I get very itchy nose, throat, and some years eyes. Also my nose runs really bad. I have been dealing with this for the last 10 years and it seems to get worse every year. Every year I go to the doctor and he prescribes me a different nasal spray. I am not sure if its me but they only seem to work for a couple of years and then they stop working. The last 2 years or so I have been using Omnaris and this stuff was working unbelievably well until the end of last season. It started to not work so well. I have been through Flonase and Nasonex and both stopped working for me. I am starting to feel the allergies kick in too but not so bad just yet.

 

Allegra was a prescription I have tried before in the past and was using with great success. Of course my insurance a while back stopped covering it so I pretty much stopped using it because it was just ridiculously priced. The other day I was in BJ's Wholesale and I saw Allegra available OTC! It was not to badly priced either. $35 for 90 pills. I didn't buy it because I wanted to see if I could find a smaller bottle elsewhere. Don't know if the OTC stuff is the same (supposedly it is) but why shell out $35 only to find out it doesn't work.

Good old fashioned Benadryl works great for me but it puts me to sleep. There is no way I can use it at work because of machinery that I operate. Immunotherapy is where doctors give you a shot every week or so from what I understand to help with allergies. I know of friends and family that have been through this and not one of them actually said it really worked for them so I never pursued this. Anyway good luck.

Xyzal. It's a relatively new prescription allergy med. I have been on it for about a year and it really helps. When things get bad for me I use benadryl but that knocks me out so I use it as a last resort.

So it seems like my options are.....a bunch of prescription or over the counter meds. Eff it, I might just deal with it. I think I will pick up an air purifier for my house.....that combined with the nasal flushes I do should keep it to a minimum.

 

THANK YOU to all who have taken time to respond, it is much appreciated.

I would stay away from all those nasal sprays because you body actually becomes addicted to it as it constricts your blood vessels in the nasal cavities and cause you to become stuffy or congested when you stop using the drug. Your better of staying away from those types of drugs because they put you worst off in the long run, that is why you become immune to its purpose and the different brands are just higher doses phenylaphrine which is extremely easy for your body to become addicted to.

room air purifiers are a crock

 

an air purifier connected to a central furnace is a different animal entirely

I would stay away from all those nasal sprays because you body actually becomes addicted to it as it constricts your blood vessels in the nasal cavities and cause you to become stuffy or congested when you stop using the drug.

I used to use Afrin for congestion, stopped using it for this exact reason.

 

an air purifier connected to a central furnace is a different animal entirely

Well then I will have to look at this...

Allegra-D 12-hour tablets

Flonase nasal spray

Allegra-D 12-hour tablets

Flonase nasal spray

 

Yea, I was going to say Allegra went OTC this year, so you don't need a prescription. If you do have a prescription, check with your insurance because they may stop covering Allegra. When Claratin & Zyrtec went OTC alot of insurance companies dropped coverage for the prescriptions.

I have tried both Zyrtec and Claratin, neither has worked for me.

 

Did you try regular Zyrtec and Claritin or did you go with the Zyrtec D & Claritin D versions? The D versions are better. They work for me...

Flonase, been using it for a year now and has made a huge difference. Used to not be able to breathe through my nose for days at a time. No more of that. Plus , you can use it long term, its a contact steroid as opposed to a synthetic adrenaline type of chemical like Afrin.

 

I stay away from pills if I can, they turn me into the walking dead. Once in awhile when things are bad, at night, I'll take a benadryl (Costco has generic 400 count for cheap). Still the best at alleviating allergy symptoms, but knocks me out cold which makes it good for sleeping.

I use xyzol during alergy season and now it's available in generic Levocitirizine form, similar to zertec but more potent. It works best if taken daily to keep antihistamine levels up.

 

I also use nasal rinse (sea salt filtered water solution) using a squirt bottle, to clear out alergens out of my nasal cavity before going to sleep.

 

When I started using the nasal rinse it made a huge difference in my alergic symptoms and severity. You can start with a neilmed set then continue with sea salt once the premeasured salt pockets run out. Very inexpensive and effective remedy.

You can start with a neilmed set then continue with sea salt once the premeasured salt pockets run out. Very inexpensive and effective remedy.

This is exactly what I use right now for my nasal flushes. It is a very unpleasant experience, but it works.

I found out a few years ago that I am allergic to lots of things (39 out of 42 from the allergy test) Plus I have 2 dogs which caused problems for me. Doctor recommended I should consider living in a bubble. I was prescribed xyzol and it worked great. On a whim, I decided to try Costco's Kirkman allergy pills and found the same results.

I take 1 at night before I go to sleep, and I can honestly say I have not had any issues for 3 years now. 300+ pills for less than $15? Can't beat that.

My $.02