It’s spring. It’s pollen season. 
Do you have any tips on minimizing contact with (inhalation of) pollen, or minimizing its effect? I’m especially curious about your experience with:
[ul]
[li]HEPA masks for outdoor excercise, like the Respro masks[/li][li]Indoor filtering devices[/li][li]Prescription vs. OTC medication[/li][/ul]
I have real bad hay fever, bad enough that mowing the lawn will incapacitate me. I used a heavy-duty painters mask and it worked great, so I’m thinking that the mask you linked to will be helpful as well. YMMV
I use plain old OTC store-brand benadryl, and it works just fine for me.
I was able to find a big bottle (200 tablets) at Wal-Greens the other day and snapped it up. It’s their version of Benadryl, called Wal-Dryl. I hated buying it 12 or 24 at a time in those damn blister packs that are so hard to open - getting a big supply loose in a bottle is great.
I used Claritin years ago when it first came out (in prescription form), but when it went OTC, it got more expensive. The benedryl works for me. I take one on the morning and one in the evening. It helps everything for me; the runny nose, the itchy, watery eyes and the near-constant sneezing.
I have a HEPA filter on the vacuum cleaner and try to vacuum every other day (more so to keep up with the dog hair), but I don’t know if that really does anything.
We also have some fancy-schmancy air cleaner on the central AC that needs to be cleaned a lot (it clicks when it’s dirty), and again, it gets a big old “I guess it works” from me. You have to pull out these metal grids and nasty black stuff rinses off, so yeah, I guess it does something.
My husband was suckered into buying it when we bought the whole furnace and AC package. “Oooh, air cleaner. Yeah. We need that!”
On days like today (balmy, breezy and mid-70s), I like having the windows open and fresh air blowing in - I bitch and moan about Spring, but days like today are nice.
Thank God for cheap benedryl!
USUAL DISCLAIMER - I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. This is purely my experience as an allergy sufferer. Your mileage can and probably will vary. Consult with your medical professional, etc. etc.
I have worn masks when doing outside gardening work. It helps. The better/tighter-fitting the mask the better it works.
Filters work - but only with maintenance. They must be changed regularly. We have one on our home air conditioner. If you can, have someone non-allergic do the changing.
Air conditioning is your friend. It is OK to stay in AC environs, as even a bog-standard AC with no fancy filter will provide some relief.
I have been taking meds for allergies since the days Benadryl was prescription only (that’s right boys and girls - it hasn’t always been OTC). Benadryl - diphenhydramine, if you want the generic version - is hands down THE best way to kill an allergic reaction outside of steroids - and it works faster than the steroids. On the down side, it can screw with your ability to drive safely, and the FAA won’t let me fly airplanes under its influence.
Sudafed - pseudoephedrine - is good for nasal congestion and can help with mild wheezing but won’t do squat for itchy eyes, itchy skin, and doesn’t make you less reactive so much as make you drip less when reacting. Off limits for those with cardiac problems and high blood pressure, and it’s popularity as an ingredient in illegal drug production has made obtaining it inconvenient at best. Another one the FAA won’t let me take before getting into the cockpit.
Claritan - loratidine - can take the “edge” off a reaction, it works best if you take it BEFORE a reaction, messes with my head the least of any alternatives, and lasts about 18 hours. I know it says 24, but it only seems to last 18 with me. Good for light days, but not a full-blown knock-down reaction.
Allegra - never used it
Zyrtec - they say it’s non-drowsy. It’s true. It still turned me into a zombie. I was a wide awake zombie, but a zombie nonetheless. After I almost crashed the car on my third attempt to leave the drivey I appealed to the husband to drive me to work. One particuarly bad downside - the stuff lasts up to three days. Which is how long my husband had to play chauffeur until I got my coordination and concentration back. I am told this side effect, and the degree I experienced it, is rare. Well, lucky me, I “won” the allergy lottery again. Your mileage may vary. And, oh yeah, the FAA doesn’t like this one either
(If you’re wondering - no, I don’t fly that much during the hayfever season.)
Steroids - like prednisone, solu-medrol, and kissing cousins. Wow! After my first round of one of these I figure it out - WHY people abuse steroids. It’s real simple: because they work. Amazing stuff. Within just a few hours I felt all better. Within 24, I felt better than normal. About day three not only was I starting to bloat, but I was Wonder Woman. A week into it, I was a bloating, snarling, cranky, hungry, thirsty little psychotic convinced I was a GODDESS. A bullet proof Goddess. What can I say? My husband is a saint - he was still married to me and living in the same house three weeks later when the drugs wore off and I found my battered sanity under the couch. Look, if you have a REALLY BAD HORRIBLE REACTION - you know, the kind that can potentially kill you - take the steroids. They really do work. But you really do want to avoid making them a regular thing. In fact, take some pains to avoid them as much as possible.
Here at Casaflodnak we have three folks with pollen allergies (including me). Just adding to what’s already been said:
If you must take medicine to control the symptoms, ask your doctor if you should start before the pollen season starts. One of the little flodnaks is supposed to start taking the pills two weeks before the birch trees bloom. The year before he was advised to do this, he was sent home from school three times in one week because he would be so damn sick by mid-afternoon. Since then, the symptoms have stayed under control - not gone, but at a level he can handle.
When you come inside, wash your hands and face to remove the pollen. If you’ve been outside for a while or you’re having a particularly bad day, change your clothes too. And, of course, don’t hang clothes outside to dry during “your” pollen season.
Plan as much of your outdoor activities as possible for low pollen count times, which are usually early in the morning, at/after dusk, and after a rain shower.
During the summer, while I’m working at a camp, I take a twelve hour loratidine (cheap, store brand Clariton) when I get up in the morning and again before evening time off. I find that the twelve hour stuff actually lasts twelve hours, but if I take it a little late, I will feel the wrath of pollen. I also keep a roll of toilet paper in my bag at camp, just for that reason.
-Mosquito