Perhaps this will end up in IMHO, but I’m hoping to be directed to harder data here. Do allergies have effects on emotions? Do antihistamines? I understand “I’m grumpy because I have a stuffy nose and runny eyes,” but I’m particularly interested in emotional reactions that do not seem to be a direct consequence of the symptoms: anxiety, say.
Antihistamines, big time. There’s one, no longer sold in the US (Hismanal) which was terrible for depression. Benadryl is sedating. Claritin and Allegra are pretty innocuous in this respect.
Montelukast might be up for a big black box warning regarding suicide.
The old PPA and pseuodephedrine meds would definitely trigger anxiety/rapid heart rate.
And I don’t have to expostulate about steroids.
When asthma is acting up and the person is short of breath, having difficulty breathing, and feels short on air/oxygen feeling anxious or fearful isn’t uncommon, and it’s connected to a feeling of suffocation or inadequate air. If you think about it, other situations that result in breathing difficulty may be life-threatening and fear/anxiety is a stimulus to do something about it - go elsewhere, end the threat, whatever. When the threat is coming from one’s own spasming lungs, however, “go elsewhere” isn’t feasible.
The other thing is that strong emotions can affect one’s immune system. For an allergy sufferer, that can mean a worsening of allergies so in some cases it’s a chicken-and-egg effect - is the person having these emotions due to allergies, or are the allergies triggered in part by the emotions?
And yes, stuffy nose, itchy eyes, rashes, wheezing, and so forth are all very uncomfortable and that can make a person grumpy, irritable, and intolerant of what would otherwise be no big deal. Allergic symptoms can also interfere with sleep, which in turn also affects emotions.
Then we get to the medications - old school sedating anti-histamines, and a lot of asthma medications can cause increased blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, and other symptoms associated with stimulants. AND if the person is on steroids changes in emotions (irritability most frequently but others are possible) are also a possible side effect.
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is sometimes prescribed to treat anxiety. I’ve read, though, that it’s effect in this area is very mild, and it takes massive doses to control anxiety, so it isn’t used this way very much.
The biggest problem is that its anti-anxiety properties are tied to its seating properties, to which a user quickly develops a tolerance.
Though, for me, the biggest problem is that it me simultaneously groggy and hyper, which actually makes any anxiety worse.
I feel sleepy, weepy and grumpy when my allergies are acting up.
Why yes, my new kitten did sleep on my face last night, thank you for asking.