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What Is The Best Allergy Medicine For Asthma

Is Allergic Asthma Dangerous

Xolair: The Best Medicine for Treating Asthma?

Allergic asthma, like any type of asthma, can be very dangerous and lead to an asthma attack. An asthma attack can happen when a trigger causes the lungs to become inflamed and swollen. Then the muscles around your breathing tubes tighten and spasm while more mucus than usual is produced. All these factors make the breathing tubes narrow and make it harder to get air into your lungs.

If you think you are experiencing an asthma attack, dial 9-1-1, use your quick-relief inhaler and seek urgent care.

Living with allergic asthma, you may feel frustrated or scared. This is normal. Asthma can be frightening but know that you can work with your doctor to develop a plan to treat both your asthma and your allergies. With treatment, you should be able to reduce the frequency and severity of your symptoms. Dont let your allergic asthma prevent you from living a happy, healthy life.

Here Are A Few Tips To Help Allergy Sufferers Enjoy The Beautiful Spring Weather:

Oral allergy medications

Oral medications are especially useful for mild allergy symptoms, and many are available over the counter.

Nonsedating antihistamines can relieve itching, sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes. Options include:
  • Loratadine , cetirizine , levocetirizine and fexofenadine all are available without prescription.
  • Oral decongestants, like pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine can ease stuffiness, and pseudoephedrine is often combined with an antihistamine. These medications are generally well-tolerated, with minimal side effects.
Common side effects

Oral decongestants cause insomnia and elevated blood pressure for some people, and antihistamines can cause drowsiness. If you find that one brand of antihistamine makes you sleepy, try a different one to see if you tolerate that better.

Older antihistamines, like diphenhydramine , are more likely to cause drowsiness compared to the newer antihistamines. Be careful about driving or working around heavy machinery if you take diphenhydramine.

Nasal steroid sprays

For more persistent allergy symptoms, nasal steroid sprays often are the best treatment option. Nasal steroid sprays block inflammation and swelling caused by airborne irritants and allergens, and prevent allergy symptoms.

Over-the-counter steroid nasal sprays include:
  • Triamcinolone
  • Fluticasone
  • Budesonide

Eye drops

Inhalers

Allergy shots

However, you may first want to know more details about allergy shots before considering:
Topics in this Post

Warning: Combination Allergy Medications

Antihistamines are also available in combination allergy products with , such as pseudoephedrine, that can interact with several medications and raise the risk of side effects. Consult your doctor before taking a combination product.

First-generation antihistamines are considered anticholinergic drugs since they block activity of acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that transmits messages within the brain and throughout the central nervous system.

Anticholinergics can worsen certain conditions or lead to serious complications. Talk with your doctor before taking one of these drugs if you have any of the following conditions that may prohibit their use:

Research has also found a link between anticholinergics and an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. As none of the second-generation antihistamines are anticholinergics, those with a family history of Alzheimersor those taking Benadryl frequentlymay want to switch to one of these drugs.

Also Check: Kit Kats Peanut Allergy

What Is The Best Way To Live With Asthma

The key to good living with asthma is developing a strong partnership between patients, caregivers, and physicians. Practical steps include the following:

Make an asthma care management plan with your physician. An asthma management plan helps you understand what to do when specific situations arise. Each time you visit the physician, talk about your plan, and make any necessary changes.

Educate yourself. Stay informed about the latest developments in asthma and allergy care and treatment. Ask your physician about new medications or research findings that may relate to your care.

Get regular medical care. If you have asthma, you should see your physician at least once a year, even if your symptoms are under control. When you become sick, or if you have significant changes in your health, you should also talk with your physician about how your asthma could be affected.

Take your medicine. Your asthma medications will make you feel better and sometimes people think thats the time to stop. Its not! Use your medications as prescribed.

With good management, asthma symptoms can be controlled. Most people who develop adult onset asthma are able to lead normal lives. Expect success!

Recommended Reading: How To Get Rid Of Asthma Without Inhaler

Triggers For Asthma In Children

Hardluck Asthma: The best allergy medicine is cold medicine

Asthma triggers are substances, conditions or activities that lead to asthma symptoms. These include :

  • wheezing whistling noise when breathing
  • coughing .

Your child may have all of these symptoms or just a few. Symptoms are often worse at night, in the early morning, during exercise or due to other triggers.

Also Check: Can You Suddenly Develop Food Allergies

Nux Vomica For Asthma In Winter

Nux Vomica is a prominent remedy for asthma in the winter. Cough with wheezing and oppressed breathing arise in cold weather. The cough may be prominently dry in the evening and night time but loose with expectoration during the day. Suffocative asthma attacks after midnight are also best treated with Nux Vomica. Nux Vomica is also of great help in gastric asthma.

Nasacort Allergy 24hour Nasal Spray

Nasacort is nasal spray thats been on the market for quite some time, offering relief from itching, sneezing, and stuffy noses caused by seasonal allergies and hay fever. We should note that while Nasacort is effective, it has been known to cause a burning sensation. It is not for patients under the age of two.

Recommended Reading: What Allergy Medicine Is Stronger Than Zyrtec

How Do You Treat Allergies

There are various ways to combat unpleasant allergy symptoms, including:

  • Medications: An array of medicationsboth over-the-counter and prescriptioneffectively and safely treat allergy symptoms. Different types of medications treat allergy symptoms in different ways, ranging from reducing swelling to keeping your body from releasing histamines.
  • Immunotherapy treatments: These treatments consist of giving a patient either an allergy shot or sublingual immunotherapy tablet with a dosage of the allergen to lower their sensitivity to it gradually. With allergy shots, you need three to six months of injections with increasingly higher doses of the allergen to build up immunity or tolerance. Once youve reached an effective dose, you can expect to receive an injection every two to four weeks. Allergen immunotherapy may reduce the need for medications to control symptoms.

Why Trust Verywell Family

Top 3 Treatments For Asthma That Are Not Medication

As a seasoned health writer, Isis Briones knows the importance of finding products that work best for you and your conditions. You can count on her to always provide a variety of recommendations from licensed medical professionals because she has tested and reviewed tons of products over the years to know everyone is different.

Additional reporting by Katrina Cossey

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Other Things You Can Do

Saline rinses: Your doctor may recommend that you use a salt water solution daily to help clear your nose and soothe the lining of the nose. Syringes and rinse bottles are available from pharmacies.

Avoid smoke: People with allergic rhinitis should not smoke and should avoid other peoples cigarette smoke. Smoking makes asthma and rhinitis worse, and can prevent medicines from working properly. Bushfires and wood smoke may also worsen allergic rhinitis and asthma.

Avoid allergens: Your doctor can help you work out which allergens trigger your allergic rhinitis and asthma. Try to avoid your allergy triggers if you can. See Avoiding allergens for tips.

If medication does not clear a badly blocked nose, doctors may occasionally recommend a surgical operation called turbinate reduction. Surgery is not a cure for rhinitis, but may help with symptoms in severe cases.

Before taking any medication for allergic rhinitis, you should tell your doctor or pharmacist if:

  • you have any other medical conditions or are pregnant
  • you are taking any other medicines
  • you have been experiencing nose bleeds.

Naturopathic Approaches To Allergies And Asthma

From a naturopathic medical perspective, allergic symptoms are quite often associated with disruption to the microbiome in the gut, as well as to dysfunction of other organ systems including the adrenal glands/endocrine system, digestive disturbance beyond the microbiome, and altered immune responses. Determining the cause of a patients allergic symptoms, including allergic asthma, is at the forefront of a naturopathic treatment protocol. Root cause identification may involve laboratory testing, diet-symptom tracking via logs and observations, as well as special diets called elimination and challenge diets. In terms of management and treatment, dietary avoidance, environmental modifications such as home air purifiers and specific cleaning routines, as well as a variety of herbs and supplements may be implemented based on patient presentation.

Assistant Dean of Naturopathic Medicine and Associate Professor, National University of Health Sciences

Also Check: What Allergy Medicine Is Stronger Than Zyrtec

Other Top Tips For Dealing With Hay Fever Symptoms

  • Clear your nose with a saline wash from the chemist as well as making you more comfortable, it may mean you need to use less nasal spray and/or antihistamine medicine.
  • Put Vaseline round your nostrils to trap pollen before it gets into your nose and airways.
  • Change your clothes and have a shower when you come home, to wash off any pollen.
  • Try to keep windows and doors shut as much as possible.

Blatta Orientalis And Bromium For Asthma Triggered By Dust Exposure

What is the Best Allergy Medicine?

Both Blatta Orientalis and Bromium are significant remedies for asthma triggered by exposure to dust. Blatta Orientalis is prescribed for a cough with difficult respiration and pus-like mucus.

Bromium is selected when there is cough with the rattling of mucus, suffocation, and difficulty in breathing after exposure to dust.

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Should People With Asthma Get The Covid

Yes, says board-certified allergist Purvi Parikh, MD, national spokesperson for Allergy & Asthma Network. People with underlying medical conditions such as asthma can receive the COVID-19 vaccine as long as they have not had an immediate or severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or any of its ingredients.

I encourage everyone who is offered or has access to the vaccine to get it as soon as possible, Dr. Parikh says.

When you do get either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, its important to remember to schedule a time for the second dose. The second dose of the Pfizer vaccine is given 21 days after the first dose, while the second dose of the Moderna vaccine is 28 days

Natural Treatments For Allergic Asthma

07/09/2021 by Ruth Holroyd

Ive had allergic asthma all my life and used both reliever and preventative inhalers regularly for YEARS. This blog is about my journey to living with asthma naturally and no longer using any asthma medication.

Ive always worried about this continued use of steroids for asthma and whether they were bad for me, causing side effects etc. Naturally when I began topical steroid withdrawal I looked into whether this was going to hinder my progress because the preventative asthma inhaler contains a steroid drug. It was hard to find any advice that I really trusted so I continued to use both.

Asthma can be life threatening.

Every day 3 people in the UK die because of their asthma.

Asthma UK

Asthma deaths in England and Wales were recorded at 1,320 in 2017 and 1,422 in 2018 giving us an increase of 7.7%. Asthma UK analysed asthma deaths data from the Office for National Statistics, Deaths registered in England and Wales 2018 .

I believe many of these could be due to undiagnosed allergies, but I cant substantiate this.

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Risks Of Otc Asthma Medication

OTC asthma inhalers are quick-relief medications that a person should use as soon as asthma symptoms develop. A doctor may also prescribe them for people with exercise-induced asthma who will need to take the medication before working out.

Inhalers send medication directly to the inflamed airways, but it is important to make sure that it reaches the lower lungs.

As with other quick-relief medications, people should only use OTC asthma inhalers occasionally. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, if people feel the need to use an inhaler more than twice within a week or on 2 or more nights a month, they should contact their doctor because their asthma treatment plan is not working as it should.

As asthma is different in every individual, some experts recommend against any kind of OTC treatment, emphasizing the importance of individualized treatment plans.

What You Can Do To Keep Safe

Allergies and Asthma: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment Options
  • During spring and early summer, use a corticosteroid nasal spray . Start at the beginning of September and continue to the end of December.
  • Keep taking your preventer medication as prescribed. If you don’t normally use a preventer all year, you should use it during September-December if you are going to be in an area where there is ryegrass pollen.
  • Follow the pollen counts and weather forecasts during spring and summer so you know if a storm is coming.
  • Make sure your written asthma action plan is up to date and includes thunderstorm advice – talk to your GP
  • Avoid being outdoors just before and during thunderstorms, especially in cold wind gusts that come before the rain. Get inside a building or car with the windows shut and the air conditioner switched to recirculate/recycled.

Recommended Reading: Can Allergies Cause Headaches And Fatigue

What Should I Look For In An Otc Allergy Medication

There are certain ingredients that you should look for when youre reading labels. If youre shopping for an OTC allergy medication in pill form, you want to look for ingredients that indicate there are antihistamines, Dr. Li says. Heres a list of active ingredients to search for:

  • cetrizine
  • diphenhydramine
  • lortadine

For nasal sprays, youll want to look for steroids. These are generally the most effective nasal sprays and do not cause rebound nasal congestion, Dr. Li says. Instead, Dr. Li recommends keeping an eye out for these ingredients:

  • fluticasone
  • mometasone
  • triamcinolone

Pro tip, per Dr. Parikh: Avoid anything with decongestants, because they can make symptoms worse and have side effects. If you feel like you really need to use a decongestant, its important not to do it for more than three days in a row. Otherwise, you run the risk of rebound congestion, Dr. Li says.

So, what should you get? Everyone and their needs are a little different, but allergists say these OTC allergy medicines tend to be best.

Claritin provides relief of symptoms that can be triggered by more than 200 different allergens, including pets, pollen, dust and mold. The antihistamine stops the cascade of symptoms that can be triggered by allergens.

What If My Medications Stop Working

If your medications dont seem to be working, you may have to modify your treatment plan.

Symptoms of allergic asthma can change over time. Some long-term medications might be less effective as time goes on. Its important to discuss symptom and medication changes with your doctor.

Using an inhaler or other quick-acting medications too often is a sign that your allergic asthma isnt under control. Talk to your doctor about your current treatment options and whether youll need to make any changes.

Also Check: Can You Eat Twix With A Peanut Allergy

Treat Your Allergic Asthma At Oak Brook Allergists

Although there are a lot of options on hand for treating allergic asthma, you cannot go about treatment alone. Talk to a doctor about what treatment will work best for you.

If you need guidance to manage your allergic asthma, Oak Brook Allergists is here to help. If you are living in or near Downers Grove, Naperville, Elmhurst, or Plainfield, Illinois, visit us to consult with our allergy specialists. To book your first appointment, call us at 574-0460.

Medications That May Worsen Asthma

3 Home Remedies for Allergic Asthma

Some medicines can trigger asthma flare-ups or prompt or worsen other respiratory symptoms, such as coughing. Inform every doctor that treats you about your asthma and pay attention to asthma symptoms if you take any of the following medications.

  • Beta-blockers: While cardio-specific beta-blockers are only supposed to act on the heart, older beta-blockers are known to worsen asthma symptoms.
  • Aspirin
  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in those with an allergy to NSAIDs
  • Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors

Also Check: Cetirizine Symptoms

What Factors Should Patients Consider In Choosing And Using Otc Epinephrine Or Ephedrine

Despite the development of newer medications, epinephrine and ephedrine remain available as OTC medications. The choice of epinephrine or ephedrine should involve consideration of several factors. Most importantly, the asthma should be mild and less frequent, defined as occurring less than once per week and resolving almost immediately. It’s best to use OTC epinephrine or ephedrine under the guidance of a physician, if used at all. A patient should seek medical attention and prepare to switch to a prescription asthma medication in most cases, but especially if:

  • moderate to severe asthma develops
  • frequent or regular doses of epinephrine or ephedrine are needed to relieve symptoms
  • episodes of asthma occur once or more per week or
  • asthmatic episodes develop at night.
  • OTC ephedrine is available only as an oral medication in combination with guaifenesin as caplets, tablets, or syrup. Use caution when first starting these products since they occasionally irritate the airways of some patients and may make the asthma worse. OTC ephedrine should provide relief of symptoms within 15-60 minutes and may continue to be effective for three to five hours. Continued use of ephedrine, like frequent use of epinephrine, leads to tolerance.

    Im Pregnant Can I Take Allergic Rhinitis Medicines

    If your allergic rhinitis is troublesome, or if effective treatment for your allergic rhinitis helps control your asthma symptoms, your doctor might recommend that you take medicine while you are pregnant.

    If you discover that you are pregnant while using medicines for allergic rhinitis, tell your doctor straight away.

    Some corticosteroid nasal sprays have a good safety rating during pregnancy. Most allergic rhinitis medicines have no particular safety concerns for pregnant or breastfeeding women. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before taking any medicines when you are pregnant.

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