In retrospect it’s now obvious but it took me some time to figure out that occasional episodes of lung sensitivity and difficulty breathing coincided with taking Claritin.
I’m loathe to give it up because otherwise visiting people with a lot of cats or dust or smoke makes my nose drippy and sneezy for hours afterwards. But really I have no choice.
Any one else have this reaction to Claritin? More importantly can you recommend a decent alternative for allergies (different active ingredient)? OTC preferred.
My gf swears by SudaFed, but she only needs/takes it maybe twice a month. When she ran out and had a horrible sinus headache recently, she asked me to pick up a package.
I didn’t realize how tightly its sale is regulated. I had to present my DL and sign a sheet. When I told the pharmacist, “Boy, after all this it would be a shame not to use this to make Methamphetamine!” she glared at me.
Zyrtec (or rather the generic, cetirizine HCl, since it’s like 1/3 the price) is my holy grail of allergy medications. It kicks in within 20 minutes and it has no side effects for me. It’s like a magical vitamin that keeps me from sneezing.
I take generic Zyrtec, but I’ve got pretty bad seasonal allergies so it and everything else left me with nasal symptoms (stuffed up, runny nose, etc). I’ve added NasalCrom (a spray) and it completely relieved those symptoms. It works so well that when it’s fall and I’d normally be miserable, I actually feel a bit like a superhero (Not-Affected-By-Allergens Man). Given that you’re only complaining about your nose, it might be the only thing you need.
We use Zyrtec (a generic, really) and Moon Unit uses Allegra (Zyrtec didn’t work well enough for her).
As an alternative to Claritin, you could try one of those, or go with an older antihistamine such as Benadryl or clorpheniramine - Benadryl is known to be sedating, obviously, so may not be ideal. I believe clorpheniramine (Clor-Trimeton etc.) is somewhat less so but could still have that effect. I had no trouble with it, but then when I was using it, I was using it for long enough that I’d built up a tolerance.
The question about the lung sensitivity is: did that occur after you took the Claritin but before you were with the cats? If it kicked in after being around the cats, it would seem to be a reaction to the cats, not to the antihistamine. It may simply not be working well enough. If it kicked in before, that’s more worrisome.
From WebMD. It lists trouble breathing as a serious side effect.
And if that is a true side effect, check with the doctor. I don’t know if Zyrtec / Allegra are a better choice for you in that situation - might you react to that as well?
Another option is Singulair, which is a pill (leukotriene reuptake inhibitor). Of course that’s prescription (and stupidly overpriced - it’s due to go off patent in a couple of years and I think the company is gouging for every penny they can).
What other kinds of allergies are the pills used for?
It’s hard to tell because I only take it when I’m on my way to the cat place or already there. But it never happened before I decided to try Claritin, and it has never happened when I’ve run out of and not taken Claritin and had severe nasal allergies instead. And it’s happened in other places.
I was assuming a different active ingredient would not have the same side effects, but I don’t understand the mechanism involved well enough to really say.
Hey Jack, my suggestions are not OTC but they’ve worked great for me: 2 nasal sprays, Flonase and Astelin. I used to suffer very badly from allergies but now am pretty much allergy-free.
For me, Zyrtec completely takes care of my itchy eye and throat symptoms. Because NasalCrom (a formerly prescription only nasal spray but has been OTC for a while now) only covers nose stuff, I still need the pills. Though its name is kind of repulsive, I really can’t emphasize enough how amazing I think NasalCrom is. I recommend it to anyone who complains about allergies partially because I haven’t run into many people who have heard of it and I’m afraid it’ll be discontinued. I’d hate to have to go back to life without it.
I think a lot of people switched to Flonase, even though you do need a prescription for it. IIRC, you have to use Nasalcrom 4 times a day, whereas you only need to use Flonase once a day. Much more convenient.