Awful, horrible, ridiculous seasonal allergies only getting worse as I age
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Anonymous
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Anyone else experiencing this? I am approaching 40 this year and my seasonal allergies have never been worse.
I developed seasonal allergies in my early 20s. I managed it with daily Claritin in the spring in summer months. Eventually, two Claritin per day was not working. I switched to Zyrtec four years ago. That seemed to work...until now. The Zyrtec no longer works. This entire weekend, it feels like my eyes are burning. Constant sneezing and runny nose today. I’ve honestly never had it this bad and it seems to only get worse as I age. Should I try Zyrtec twice per day? I’m sitting on the couch with a cold compress on my eyes! Even inside my house I keep having pollen attacks this weekend. It’s absurd. |
Anonymous
| Allergy shots |
Anonymous
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I’ve had seasonal allergies for several years. For quite some time, allergy season has gotten longer and more intense. Both Claritin and Allegra worked perfectly for me — until they didn’t. I’ve been using Nasocort for the last few years, and it works well. So my suggestion would be to try Nasocort. Flonase didn’t work for me, but many people swear by it.
If the OTCs are no longer working well for you, it’s time to talk to your health care providers about prescription options. |
Anonymous
Anonymous
| Allergy shots will change your life. |
Anonymous
Not everyone can take them, sigh. Op I sympathize. I’m going to scream if one more person suggests local honey to me! |
Anonymous
| Local honey, I tablespoon a day. Buy from farmers market and ensure it is local. Life long allergies. Only thing that works. Nothing over the counter or prescribed works. |
Anonymous
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You need to cycle those meds. I build up immunity fast too.
I’m also wearing a mask and my glasses whenever I’m outside. It has really helped my allergies. Quercitin may help too I don’t do Flonase because of side effects but it’s supposed to help a lot |
Anonymous
| Air purifiers too. I have them in every room |
Anonymous
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You need LOCAL CORTICOSTEROIDS. Local as in, application in affected areas, not a pill that acts in a systemic way like the antihistamines you're taking. The most commonly used corticosteroids are nose sprays, but there are corticosteroid eye drops too. They work like magic. I actually had corneal eye damage from allergic conjunctivitis during a really bad allergy season. I went to see an ophthalmologist and he prescribed those eye drops. If felt as if my eyelids had sandpaper trapped in them and I looked like a druggie with my red eyeballs. After 24 hours, all was back to normal. I can't tell you the relief! Before that, I used to be on Zyrtex, which put me to sleep. My doctor explained that Zyrtex should be started 2 weeks before it's actually needed (as if you can pinpoint the start of allergy seasons every year!), so that you have time to get used to the side effects and it builds up in your system. And then you take it all throughout the allergy season. It's more effective that way. But honestly, the corticosteroids just worked so much better, without any side effects. |
Anonymous
| I use a sinus rinse 5-7 times a day and it helps a lot. |
Anonymous
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I'm the long-winded poster from the recent allergy immunotherapy (sublingual immunotherapy, SLIT) thread whose ENT nicknamed her "Allergy Girl" because my allergies are so bad. I'll try to keep it brief here, but if you want to know anything about SLIT, see my posts and a DP's posts there. If antihistamines aren't cutting it and you can't do allergy shots or nasal sprays, SLIT is amazing. Unfortunately, it's not covered by insurance and is a little pricey, but SLIT can be life-changing for those of us with severe allergies.
In the same thread, a DP mentioned that there are sublingual tablets that are covered by insurance that treat a limited number of pollens -- seemed like mostly grasses -- which sounds like a great option for people whose allergens are included in those tablets. I agree with the PPs who mentioned climate change and how the allergy season is getting longer. It's not your imagination, seasonal allergies really are getting worse. The PP who talked about cycling on and off and between different brands of anti-histamines is correct. Claritin is a bad offender when it comes to losing effectiveness. Sometimes it works again if you've been off of it for a while. I've had much better luck with Xyzal which is virtually identical to Zyrtec, but you mentioned that Zyrtec is no longer working for you, so you probably need to switch to something else for a while instead of increasing the dosage. Sorry, I haven't kept up with newer Rx antihistamines and local corticosteroids because Xyzal + SLIT has been working so well for me, so I don't have any suggestions. The PP who mentioned that you have to start it well in advance of your symptoms is also correct. I've been taking Xyzal and previously Zyrtec 365 days/year for probably over 10 years (whenever each was first released as a Rx before becoming OTC), but starting a few weeks or even a month before you think you'll need it should be sufficient. If you take an antihistamine at night, then the drowsiness can be a positive and shouldn't affect you the next day. Here are some non-pharmacological things (in no particular order) that may help reduce your pollen allergies -- some that you probably have already tried and some that seem obvious but they're so basic that it's possible to forget about them: 1. As a PP mentioned, face mask and large glasses/sunglasses when outside. 2. Shower in the evening if possible and change your pillow case daily -- especially if you can't shower in the evening. Washing your hair at night gets the pollen out of it so that you're not breathing it in all night. If that's not possible, try to keep pollen out of your hair by keeping it under a hat while you're outside and wash your face as soon as you get home. 3. Keep separate indoor and outdoor clothes. Change into the indoor clothes as soon as you get home and put the outdoor clothes somewhere where they won't get pollen all over your home. 4. Outdoor shoes off as soon as you get inside. Switch to slippers. When guests visit, if they keep their shoes on, have a family member vacuum/mop soon after they leave. 5. High-quality vacuum with HEPA filter, high (12+) MERV HVAC filter, HEPA filters in your bedroom and any rooms where you spend a lot of time. 6. Keep windows closed. 7. Recirculate the air in your car*. Have the cabin air filter changed often -- at least once/year even if the owner's manual says every other year or less often. Keep car windows closed*. *if you're alone or with household members. If sharing a vehicle with a non-vaccinated, non-household member then COVID-19 precautions trump allergy precautions. 8. Limit time outdoors, especially in the morning, on high-pollen days, and on windy days. It sucks, but the allergy symptoms suck more. I find that it actually temporarily gets worse right after it rains but then it gets better. 9. Neti pot. It's actually not as bad as one would expect. Still not great, but again the allergy symptoms suck more. If the Neti pot scares you, there are other saline nasal rinses in squeeze bottles that aren't as intimidating. 10. Eye drops. Even OTC just to lubricate and rinse your eyes out. |
Anonymous
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OP here: thank you all for the wonderful advice! I’m going to reach out to an allergist in my insurance network and see if I can get this shot that people are mentioning.
What’s it called? Is it taken annually ahead of sprint? Thx!!! |
Anonymous
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Instead of zyrtec try...
Xyzal plus flonase plus alaway eye drops If that doesn’t do it, contact an allergist for testing and management |
Anonymous
| My husband and daughter started allergy shots about three months ago. Be aware that it is quite a time commitment. For the last three months, they have had weekly allergy shots. They will need weekly shots for about another 3 to 4 months after which they should change to monthly shots for the next 3 to 5 years. |