Which Otc Allergy Medicine Is Best For Pollen

Nose Bleeds And Sores In The Nose

• Risk factors: Long-term use | Nasal surgery | Injury to the nose | Ulcers in the nose

Using budesonide for months can cause sores to develop in the nose, which can cause very serious injuries to the bony cartilage between your nostrils . Talk to your provider if you experience painful discomfort in your nose, have regular nosebleeds, hear a whistling sound from your nose when you breathe, or have painful sores in your nose while you use budesonide .

Dog Allergy Medication Prices

Its hard to pinpoint a price range for dog allergy medications because there are so many types, both prescription and OTC. As a general rule, youll pay less for a generic drug than a brand-name medication. That goes for both prescription and OTC drugs. For example, a generic bottle of Diphenhydramine HCl, which is the active ingredient in Benadryl, can cost as little as $5 for 100 tablets, while brand-name Benadryl might cost $15 for the same amount.

When it comes to itch-and-allergy treatments, expect to pay $20 to $30 for a one- to three-month supply, depending on your pets weight.

What Is The Best Allergy Medicine

The short answer is it depends. As described above, there are a few things to consider when selecting the right allergy medicine for you:

• How quickly you need relief

• Your symptoms

• Side effects

• Cost

Fast-acting medications, like decongestants and antihistamines, work quickly if youre experiencing symptoms. And while antihistamines can be taken daily, decongestants should only be used as needed short term.

Antihistamines and nasal steroids can be good options for preventing symptoms from happening if taken daily before allergy season hits. Experts currently recommend intranasal steroids as the first-choice treatment for people with persistent symptoms.

Lastly, keep in mind that not all antihistamines are created equal Benadryl can make you feel drowsy, whereas Allegra and Claritin may be less sedating. Since all antihistamines may cause some drowsiness, its best to see how you respond to them before engaging in activities that require alertness or concentration.

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What Are The Drug Interactions For Allergy Medications

Antihistamines may interact with:

Other drugs that cause drowsiness, such as sleeping medications, narcoticpain medications, sedatives, muscle relaxants, antidepressants and seizure medications.

Drugs with anticholinergic activity such as amitryptiline and other tricyclic antidepressants, antipsychotics like chlorpromazine, certain drugs to prevent vomiting (prochlorperazine and promethazine.

Corticosteroids may interact with:

Drugs affecting metabolism of corticosteroids, such as ketoconazole and ritonavir .

Leukotriene inhibitors may interact with:

Drugs that stimulate liver metabolism, such as phenytoin phenobarbital, and carbamazepine as well as the antibioticRifampin.

Oral decongestants may interact with:

Antidepressants, other cold or allergy medications, drugs used to treat migraines and high blood pressure.

Topical immunomodulators may interact with:

Certain antibiotics, antifungals, calcium channel blockers, and cimetidine .

Pick The Right Medicine For The Job

There are different types of OTC allergy medicines available, from eye drops to pills to nasal sprays, so choosing the right one for the job can help ease your symptoms more effectively.

Dr. Kalra notes that the first go-to for the usual allergy offenders like nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing and post-nasal drip should be an intranasal corticosteroid, such as Flonase, Nasacort or Rhinocort. However, for persistent itchy/watery eyes, an OTC eye drop will probably be most helpful.

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How Do You Minimize Drowsiness

Older antihistamines, such as Benadryl , can cause significant drowsiness. Newer antihistamines, like Claritin , Allegra , Zyrtec , and Xyzal , are less likely to cause drowsiness, but many patients do report some sleepiness.

Be careful when choosing any combination product for allergies or cough and cold because many of them contain sedating antihistamines. Ask your pharmacist to help you choose a product that wont immediately put you to sleep.

Benadryl Allergy Ultratab Tablets

Benadryl something most of us likely have in one form or another in our medicine cabinets is the name brand for the antihistamine Diphenhydramine and it very successfully blocks what is known as the Histamine-1 receptor in the body .

This particular Benadryl tablet is dye free, earning it more approval points among consumers. We recognize the irony of an allergy medicine being designated hypoallergenic, but because some products do include a pink dye, the dye-free feature of Benadryl Ultratabs is important.

Since this gel-tab version of Benadryl is extremely easy to swallow and it takes effect very quickly, we are not surprised to find it in the top 3, but beware Benadryl will cause drowsiness in most users so it is recommended that you not use it if youre planning to drive or operate machinery of any kind.

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How Long Will It Take For My Allergy Medicine To Work

When youre experiencing allergy symptoms, you want to feel better and fast. But because each product works differently and treats specific symptoms, its important that you select the allergy medicine that will help you the most.

If youre looking for fast congestion relief, oral and nasal decongestants can start working in 15 to 30 minutes.

Antihistamines usually start working within 1 to 2 hours, depending on the product youre taking. You can also find antihistamine nasal sprays, like Astepro , that work in as little as 15 minutes.

Nasal steroids, on the other hand, take the longest to provide a benefit sometimes even a few weeks. Thats why theyre better for symptom prevention instead of treating symptoms as they happen.

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.

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Pharmacist Tips For Budesonide

Make sure you know how to give yourself budesonide to avoid accidentally hurting yourself or wasting the medication. Read the instructions for use and contact your provider or pharmacist if you have any questions on how to use this medication.

Before using budesonide for the first time, shake the bottle and prime it by spraying 8 times into the air away from your face. If you haven’t used the medication for 2 days, you’ll need to reprime with 1 spray or until you see a fine mist when you spray. If you haven’t used the medication for 2 weeks, use an alcohol wipe to clean the applicator and reprime with 2 sprays or until you see a fine mist when you spray.

Your symptoms might start to get better within 1 to 2 days after starting budesonide , but it can take about 2 weeks to get the full effect. You should use it every day to get the most out of the medication. If you’re not better after 2 weeks of using budesonide , let your provider know because you might have to stop taking the medication.

Each bottle of budesonide contains 120 sprays. Don’t use the bottle after 120 sprays because additional sprays won’t have the correct amount of medication you’ll need for a full dose.

If you want to stop using budesonide after using it regularly for a while, don’t stop all of a sudden. Doing so can cause symptoms of withdrawal, such as nausea, vomiting, tiredness, and weakness. Before you stop this medication, ask your provider how to do so safely.

Best Natural: Les Labs Sinus & Seasonal Sinus Relief & Nasal Health Supplement

• Added quercetin promotes immune boost

• A bit more expensive

The LES Labs Sinus & Seasonal Supplements are ready to keep your nasal health in tip top shape. It includes all-natural, non-drowsy ingredients like Nettle Root, Quercetin, Bromelain, and Butterbur, which combined can help you stay healthy during allergy season. In short, youll never have to let a stuffy nose get you down again.

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How Do I Know Whats Causing My Dogs Allergies

Consulting with your vet is the best way to determine what your dog is allergic to. But you can also do an at-home dog allergy test to discover if your dog has any insensitivities to many food ingredients and environmental allergens.

If you use an at-home allergy test, discuss the results with your vet so they can confirm the results and recommend the most appropriate allergy treatment for your dog.

Had Enough Of Your Seasonal Allergies Maybe You Need A New Medication

Allergies, Asthma, Health, Treatment, Wellness

If your allergy symptoms have been defying your allergy medication, dont despair. You might be able to find more effective medicine without getting a prescription. You just have to shop around.

Its perfectly fine to try different allergy medications, says Millie Kwan, MD, PhD, an allergist with the UNC Allergy and Immunology Clinic. Try one allergy medication for a period of time, and if it isnt working, try a different one.

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What Is Pollen Anyway

To know what you’re up against, it’s important to know something about pollen. Pollen, the microscopic powdery granules of flowering plants, is the mechanism for the fertilization of trees, grasses, and weeds.

While pollen from plants with bright flowers like roses rarely trigger allergy symptoms, the tiny, dry pollens from grasses, trees, and weeds are the main allergy culprits. Even though your yard may have no true pollen offenders, pollen particulates blow in the wind. For example, one ragweed plant can produce up to 1 billion pollen grains, and each grain can travel more than 100 miles from its source.

Every plant has a specific period of pollination. Although weather changes can determine the pollen count in the air, the pollinating season stays constant with trees pollinating first during springtime, grasses pollinating from late spring to midsummer, and then weeds pollinating in late summer and early fall.

How Long Do Allergy Symptoms Last

Allergy symptoms can last anywhere from a few hours to several months depending on whats causing them and how theyre treated. For some people, allergy symptoms only appear at certain times of the year but may last for a few months called seasonal allergies. For others, they can be year-round called perennial allergies. People with seasonal allergies usually refer to the times when they experience symptoms as allergy season.

Seasonal allergies tend to be most troublesome in the spring and fall. Depending on where in the U.S. you live, spring allergy season can start as early as February and last into the beginning of summer. On the flip side, fall allergy season usually lasts from August to October, with mid-September being the roughest time.

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Seasonal Allergy Medicines For Kids

To combat symptoms, most allergists recommend starting with the simplest over-the-counter treatment and adding more medications as needed. “We want to keep children on the lowest amount of medication possible to control symptoms so they have the least possible side effects,” says Edith Schussler, M.D., a pediatric allergist at Weill Cornell Medicine, in New York City. Check out the best types of allergy medicines on the market today.

What Is The Difference Between Seasonal And Perennial Allergies

Seasonal allergies generally occur around the same time each year, often between January and April, or even into early summer. Common seasonal allergies include pollen from trees, grass, and/or weeds.

Perennial allergies can affect you throughout the whole year, or occur intermittently at different times. Common causes of perennial allergies include: mold, dust mites, insects, and pet dander.

Regardless of the type of allergy, when your body tries to fight the cause of the reaction, you may experience any or all of these symptoms:

• Coughing

Allergy medications, both OTC and prescription can help to alleviate them.

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Best Allergy Medication For Pollen And Children

Every person with seasonal allergies is going to be tormented by pollen in the air that comes with springtime. Allergies usually last into the start of summer too, but once you get past the bloom you get to enjoy the summer like everyone else. So as much as youre tormented, you need to tolerate it until flowers, plants and grass have done their pollenating. Tolerance comes much easier to adults than children, and so maybe finding the best allergy medicine for pollen is going to be more of a priority for parents. Allegra is an excellent childrens allergy medicine that provides effective allergy relief.

Which is plenty important, because kids tend to get hay fever or other seasonal allergies much worse than adults. There is a connection between a higher metabolism and the immune system dysfunction that is the cause of seasonal allergies. So without getting into too much scientific analysis, having a higher metabolic rate like you do in your youth means your allergy attacks are much more severe. That means itchier eyes, more sinus irritation, much more incessant sneezing, and just generally being more miserable.

Kids always look to their parents to make things better, and of course theres no parent that likes to see their kids suffering just for being outdoors like all the other kids. Theres other ways to manage seasonal allergies that can go along with a childrens allergy medicine, and well look at those here.

Best For Redness: Bausch & Lomb Opcon

• Relief of pollen, grass, and pet dander allergies

• Reduces redness

• May cause redness rebound

• May cause stinging and burning

If redness is your biggest problem, youll probably have to choose drops that contain a decongestant like naphazoline. This ingredient acts as a vasoconstrictor, meaning it shrinks the inflamed blood vessels so they become less noticeable.

Opcon-A is a good choice for redness caused by allergies because it also contains an antihistamine. It can do double-duty on your symptoms, reducing redness on the spot while also relieving itching due to grass, pollen, ragweed, and pets.

You need to be careful, though, about overusing this product: your eyes can become accustomed to the decongestant, and more severe redness can result when you stop using it . But intermittent useup to four times per day for 72 hours at a timeis safe.

Active Ingredients: Naphazoline HCI 0.02675%, Pheniramine maleate 0.315% | Dosage: 1 or 2 drops in the affected eye up to 4 times daily

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What Is The Best Seasonal Allergy Medicine

The short answer is it depends on your symptoms.

If you feel itchy and have a runny nose or watery eyes, you would most likely benefit from an antihistamine, preferably a non-drowsy one such as Claritin. You can add a nasal steroid such as Flonase to help relieve those pesky nasal allergy symptoms. Nasal saline is a great option to keep nasal passages from drying out. OTC allergy eye drops can help relieve itchy eyes.

If you have a stuffy nose, you may want to add a decongestant. Many non-drowsy allergy meds include a decongestant, such as Allegra-D. But if you have high blood pressure, you should avoid these medications, because they can raise your blood pressure further. Also, some antihistamines are not safe for people who have glaucoma or prostate problems. Your pharmacist can help you pick the best product for your symptoms, considering any medical conditions you have and other medications you take.

What To Look For In A Decongestant:

If youre really miserable, consider an antihistamine that also contains the oral decongestant pseudoephedrine. But decongestants arent recommended for long-term use or if you have urinary tract issues, high blood pressure or heart problems as they can raise blood pressure slightly, said Dr. Bajowala.

If you want to skip the decongestant, saline rinses or neti pots may provide minor relief, too, but youll need to use them several times a day.

Skip the sprays that shrink nasal passages, such as Afrin or Neo-Synephrine theyre okay for a day or two, but any longer can cause a rebound effect that makes congestion worse, said Bajowala.

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Other Medications And Combinations

Cromolyn sodium is a nasal spray that keeps certain cells in the body called mast cells from releasing chemicals that cause allergy symptoms. It’s available without a prescription and helps a runny/itchy nose, sneezing, and congestion.

The prescription drug montelukast blocks substances called leukotrienes. They can cause the swelling linked to asthma and allergies.

Nasal ipratropium is a prescription nasal spray that can help if you have a runny nose because of your allergies.

Some products include more than one kind of drug. Allegra-D, Claritin-D, and Zyrtec-D have both an antihistamine and the decongestant pseudoephedrine.