Your antihistamine of choice?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have moderate grass allergies in the spring, and nasty ragweed allergies in the mid summer.

Typically, I have used Claritin, along with Rhinocort nasal inhaler and Patanol eye drops. For the spring allergies, the Claritin seems to do OK. For the summer, it doesn’t seem to work quite as well.

My GP is going to have me try “Clarinix”…made by Sherring (motto: “Our Claritin patent is running out…so we need to reformulate, to squeeze more money out of this drug”). She maintains that it is “17 times stronger” than Claritin and that she has had better luck with her patients.

My sneezy dopers: what is in your drug arsenal?

2

Right now I use Allegra-D when needed, which isn’t too often. I’ll use NasaCort if things get bad so that my allergies don’t set off my asthma. So far the best thing I’ve found has been a four-year course of allergy shots, but that’s not for everyone.

3

Claritin doesn’t do a damn thing for me. Sudafed (or its store-brand equivalent) is the only thing that really works for my hay fever. I’m lucky in that it doesn’t knock me out, too.

4

Tavist, although a doctor friend sometimes prescribes it as a sleeping pill.

5

Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant, not an antihistamine (and it doesn’t knock anybody out…if anything, it causes jitters in a few people) . Sometimes I have to use it along with an antihistamine if I get real stuffy.

I live in the midwest…where ragweed pollen can get pretty nasty.

6

I use Allegra 180 mg a day routinely, and allegra D if I am congested. (D just means that pseudofed is added as a decongestant)

I also use Flonase daily- for me it works better than nasalcort.

One of the best things I have found when you are congested is to use liberal amounts of saline nasal spray as often as possible . It soothes the nasal passages and clean out all the junk and debris that is lurking up in your sinuses.

7

I use Claritin every day from April until June. After that, I’m pretty much okay and can stop using it. (I just started having allergies two years ago and still am not completely sure what it is that makes me sneezy.)

8

Great point Mermaid. I do a similar thing as well.

9

I hope beagledave won’t mind too much if I ask if anyone has tried garlic supplements to relieve allergy symptoms? :slight_smile:

10

In the summer and fall I use an over-the-counter Benadryl (one capsule only) combined with a large cup of coffee.

In spring, summer and fall, and occasionally in the winter I use Patanol eyedrops twice daily.

Bendryl definitely makes me drowsy (hence the Benadryl/coffee combo) but it works soooo well for me it’s something I’m willing to live with.

11

The only thing that really really worked for me was brompheniramine maleate. Unfortunately it is no longer available except in a formula mixed with #$%#@!! sudafed, which I can’t take. (Or I can, actually, if I want to be awake 72 hours nonstop).

Mostly I just use Benadryl, but it’s like being on Thorazine. <ugh!>