posted on May 8, 2001 10:35:21 PM new
HELP...Any recommendations for hayfever medication? I go and see the doctor next week. The sneezing, watery eyes, and runny nose is awful!
I use to take Hismanol until they banned it. Too many side effects (What side effects?!! As my left eye twitches uncontrollably). Too bad, it worked great for me...
Last month I tried Claritin. I felt like I was taking placebo's.
Last week I tried Alegra-D. I was either on a nervous/jittery high or a sluggish/tired low.
I even tried regular Alegra. I took it once (instead of the twice) a day for a few days. It seems to work but I still feel abit caffinated.
With my job I do alot of driving and I can't be impaired by my hayfever med's. What are you taking and does it work?
Thanks, Patricia!
**If it weren't for my post-nasal drip I would dehydrate!**
posted on May 9, 2001 05:46:42 AM new
It's not hayfever. You must be allergic to something else. I was tested and took prescribed medication for hayfever for 20 years. Hayfever is triggered by ragweed. I'd start showing symptoms in mid August, with the symptoms starting to disappear in early September (and be gone completely by late September).
I moved to my current location 5 years ago and have had no symptoms since (no ragweed).
posted on May 9, 2001 05:53:03 AM new
Hi Malady. My husband has horrible allergies. Like you everything he tried left him feeling either drowsy or wired. I don't know if you would be interested in any alternative types of treatment, but this one has worked very well for my husband.
Go to the online store and look for the asthma pak.
This is a couple that sells all kinds of alternative meds. We first heard them on the radio here. The first thing we tried was a nutritional supplement for my then 2yo son. He would eat very little and was small. In 4 months he went from being below the 5th percentile to being in the 40th.
After that experience we tried the asthma pak for my hubbys allergies as well as getting my brother to use it for his asthma. It has been miraculous. My husband mixes up his allergy stuff in a drink twice a day and has his allergies completely under control. My brother has almost entirely quit using his inhalers. (He was using them 6-8 x's a day.)
Just wanted to let you know what has worked here. I have no affiliation with this company, but do believe in thier products.
edited to make a link
[ edited by UpInTheHills on May 9, 2001 06:01 AM ]
posted on May 9, 2001 07:42:42 AM new
The first step is to get tested and find out what you are allergic to. The procedure may have changed, but when I was tested 25 years ago, the doctor used about 20 different tiny needles, each representing a different allergy. He pricked my arm with each needle (just a tiny prick). Some needles had no effect. Others resulted in little redness. The hayfever needle resulted in a red bump. I recall that I had to schedule the testing to take place at a time of the year when I wasn't showing symptoms of hayfever.
In my case, the prescription medication was miraculous. It was an inhaler - at the height of the hayfever season, I took one sniff in each nostril 4 times a day. The only symptoms/side effects I experienced was a dry nose and the sense of being of the verge of a cold with slight sore throat. Without medication I would have had all the symptoms of a month-long very nasty cold with sneezing, very sore throat, etc.
posted on May 9, 2001 08:28:07 AM new
there are new allergy tests where they draw blood and test it. they then tell you what you are allergic to. but unless you are going to take shots to remedy them the results will simply tell you what to avoid, if possible. Claritin, Zyrtec and Allegra are all newer antihistamines that do not cause the drowsiness of earlier generations of such pills. when you see a "D" after the name it means that it has a decongestant(pseudoephedrine) that has a stimulant side effect. They generally work well, but if you leave your windows open or hang out/work outside you will still get some symptoms.
posted on May 9, 2001 02:32:59 PM newMalady: I tried something new this year in addition to my Claritin. Zicam for Allergies is a nasal "gel" that you apply to the inside of your nostrils. It contains natural ingredients that are proven to help allergies, one of which is MSM, which my doctor put me on two years ago. With Zicam, you apply it directly inside your nostrils and it works faster than the oral MSM. I love it (it's a bit drippy at first; you have to blot your nose), and you should read the directions carefully. Try it. I think you'll like it. But give it a chance; don't just use it once and say it didn't work. Use it for two or three days and see if you notice a change. And it's over the counter. (Also, get some MSM at the health food store and take three or four capsules a day. It's great for many things, mainly the healing of the cells in your body from you fingernails to your sinuses.)
posted on May 9, 2001 03:08:47 PM new
muriel- i am sorry but i do not see where MSM is listed as an ingredient in Zicam allergy nasal spray. the active ingredients listed are all homeopathic including the sulphur. so far as i know MSM is not homeopathic!
posted on May 9, 2001 03:15:33 PM new
Sorry - I forgot to say that MSM is Sulphur. Not to be confused with Sulpha, which some people are allergic to. They are two separate things.
posted on May 9, 2001 04:27:06 PM new
muriel- MSM is a sulfur(sulphur) DERIVATIVE and not homeopathic. it is NOT in Zicam. Zicam has some kind of homeopathic sulphur. sulpha is just a prefix for sulphur. the American spelling is sulfur, the Brits spell it sulphur. i don't follow your reasoning about two kinds of sulfur and only one being allergenic.
posted on May 9, 2001 04:33:48 PM new
Stusi, I am just going by what my doctor told me, and that is that Sulfa and Sulfur are two entirely different things. Sulfa is an antibiotic such as Bactrim. Sulfur is a natural ingredient found in fruit that is just beginning to ripen. He said that unless you're right at the fruit tree and can pick it as the fruit ripens, you cannot get true sulfur in your daily food intake. He said that MSM contains sulfur. He specializes in this type of medicine, and he recommended the Zicam for me. That's where I base my knowledge of the two.
Regardless, Zicam is a good product and it works for me, and I think that is the point I was trying to make here.
P.S. This is from a sulfa website:
"Sulfa is a combination of drugs from the class of drugs called sulfonamides used in combination to treat a variety of infections. At one time sulfonamides were widely used in the treatment and prevention of infections such as urinary tract infections, chlamydia, rheumatic fever, toxoplasmosis and malaria. The development of resistance in many of these organisms has greatly limited the clinical usefulness of these drugs."
posted on May 9, 2001 05:43:32 PM new
Muriel, I found this on a web site.
Msm is nutritional sulfur which is non-toxic and has many health benefits. Msm is a major component of skin, hair and nails and is often referred to as natures beauty mineral..
www.intohealth.com
posted on May 10, 2001 06:40:44 AM new
Thanks you guys for the responces. I will check out all of the websites.
I have never been allergy tested. My doctor just told me I had hayfever, about 6 years ago, and I went with it.
I do have constant congestion/coughing but the sneezing, runny nose, and watery eyes usually come late spring, early summer and goes away after a month or 2.
