How do you fell when your allergies act up?

Danitom

My daughter experiences headaches, cough, sneeze and itchy eyes. Her worst symptoms are the cough and headaches. Her meds have been very helpful for her.

singer1

I guess I should have asked what meds seem to help people with allergies.

SciTeach

Funny you should ask. I went to the Festival of Flowers in Mobile in March. That set off my early spring pollen allergies. Just this morning the newly blooming ligustrum plants have set off my late spring pollen allergies. They both began the same, and I expect this new round will progress like the March attack.

1st is a sore throat caused by post nasal drip, headache quickly follows as does a different type of sore throat...a hurting throat, not sore and scratchy, but a dull hurt whenever I swallow. Then sneezing, conjestion, coughing, runny nose, runny nose, stuffy nose....then after about a week things taper off.

I put in a quick call to my ENT this morning to get some Zyrtec. I'd stopped taking it in favor of the "non prescription Claritin", but I does NOTHING for me. Hopefully, the zyrtec will shorten this round of allergies.

Despite it all, I still LOVE spring in the southeast....it is incredibly beautiful...so was the Festival of Flowers!!!

Sciteach

Danitom

She (is 6 years old) takes Advair and singulair everyday and uses Pediox for headaches and runny noses as needed and Patanol(eye drops) as needed. She has allergic/asthma and also uses an albuterol inhaler or xopenex in her nebulizer if she gets wheezy. I think the Singulair, Pediox, and Patanol are more for the allergies.

My son who also has allergies but not asthma uses zyrtec and Nasonex. His allergies manifest as sinus infections.

Blondee15

I am allergic in many ways so here goes my different reactions..
Skinwise, it'll start off as a little itch, progressing to a nonstop itch, and a full out rash that's red, swollen and bumpy. Then it'll become oozy and weepy and crust up and fall off if I don't take care of it. That's one of the kind of rashes I get. I get lesions on my scalp, more like clumps of built up (sorry for being so gross) dead scaly skin, that if I scratch, is oozy, weepy and bloody. I often have dandruff if I don't take care of my allergies. So it's all seboirheic dermatitis, and atopic dermatitis. I take care of all this several ways, environmental controls, tanning(UV light & sun), plenty of Cetaphil lotion everyday. Medicationwise I've got a lot..steroid creams, start at the bottom with OTC cortizone, then if that doesn't help Cutivate, if that don't help Psorcon. I also use Capex shampoo when needed to control my scalp problems with Cormax oil at nite. I take Clarinex daily to prevent flare ups, Benadryl at nite if needed in addition.
Chestwise, i'll start coughing a lot and feel short of breath. If it gets worse, my chest'll hurt and it usually triggers pleurisy. When things are REALLY bad, i'll wheeze on exhalation AND inhalation and have rales and rhonchi. I take Advair 250/50(100 or 500 depending also on how well i'm doing) for my asthma, along with Singulair for flare ups and Albuterol and/or Xopenex for acute attacks.
Otherwise, I also have Eustachian Tube Dysfunction which is allergy triggered and that makes the tube swell up. My ears hurt & feel pressured, my sinuses get swollen & hurt & pressured & my throat swells up and gets sore. My nose gets really runny and I sneeze. My eyes water & itch & my nose and throat feel itchy. I'll get a headache also, usually from my ears/sinuses. I take Flonase nasal spray, Clarinex for this also and Sudafed as needed.
Whew! That's a lot! I'm a really sensitive person lol. So there's all my problems!

singer1

zyrtec makes me REALLY tired as I have heard it affects others in that way. I was reading on a website that this gentleman practically listed every symptom possible and said that allergies/asthma symptoms were all linked to too much "yeast" in the body and said that what he took really helped him and his wife and that people could order this product off the web. I wonder if any of that is true.

Blondee15

I've heard about that with the yeast..i've got a lot of factors contributing 2 my allergy problems, not sure which ones are truly it though. I'm thinking a huge one is the fact that i'm on birth control pills~ many of the problems I have now started not 2 long after I started on the pill. Also the fact that I was treated with extremely strong steroid creams for my skin rashes as a little baby even, thinking that that literally "pushed" the allergy deeper into me. Plus have been known 2 have a slight imbalance in my thyroid..very slight though. And the fact that I was born with a lot of allergies, most appearing on my skin, now all over my body. I am one of those people that has lots of inflammatory conditions(have had arthritis at the age of 13! severe menstrual cramps since age 14), always flaring up from something, always "swelling up", always "having an allergic reaction". Have a huge family history of inflammatory/allergy conditions. I wish I could find a cure for the very bottom of my problems..there's a good article about that yeast thing in Experience Life magazine(Lifetime Fitness's magazine) if you know about that. I don't remember what issue though.

Howitt44

I have hayfever for which I take Allegra or Allegra D. I love the "D" with the Allegra but it does raise my blood pressure a bit. It makes me feel energetic and dulls my appetite. ( I guess kind of like speed) Ha!! So now I am just on Allegra. During the spring when the trees are in bloom is when I notice my hayfever being its worse. I am highly allergic to tree pollen. I sneeze every second, my eyes itch and get red and swollen, stuffy nose and all of this sometimes turns into a bad cough because of my asthma, for which I take Advair 100/50. But this last go around the cough did n't turn into bronchitis and just lasted about a week. I think its because I have my asthma under control. I also use Nasonex and Astelin. Nasonex is a steroid nasal spray and Astelin is an antihistamine spray for the nose. My allergist believes strongly in treating the nasal symptoms first and that will in turn help with the asthma. So to sum it all up, Advair 100/50. Albuterol as needed, Nasonex, Astelin, and Allegra. I also take a multivitamin and get lots of vitamin C in pill form and also lots of fruit and veggies. On really windy days in the spring, I try to limit my time outside. I usually do better in the HOt SUMMER and in the winter....

singer1

You mentioned Nasonex nose spray that is a steroid. In using that, do you have that chance of getting thrush since it does drain down the throat?

Howitt44

I've used a steroid spray for several years off and on, just recently Nasonex but before that Nasacort, and have never had that problem. Some people might be more prone than others. I dont even rinse out my mouth most of the time.

Ol'Joe

I have just read all the other previous posts and have to say, there has got to be a better solution to all of our issues. Seems that we are all different.

Mine: I get them every March/April. Mostly when the Mulberry trees start exploding. My sinuses fill up and won't drain, the mucous thickens and becomes extremely sticky and my sinuses dryup. It is almost like my body is dehydrated. I found that drinking an electrolytic drink, such as Gaterade, helps get the hydration going, but this year it doesn't seem to work.

I cannot take Sinus medications, because they just increase the drying and makes it all worse. Steroids bloat me up like the Michelen Tire guy.

However, this year, my doctor is trying the Singulair on me for the allergies. Her only suggestion for the thick mucous is to steam it out. Don't they make a mucous thinner?

I am looking into a book called "The Water Cure". He states that he can heal Asthma, Allergies and Lupus.

xmerkatx

I get:
headaches
fatigue
lots of coughing
itchy dry eyes, nose (sneezing), throat, and sometimes my back itches if they're bad enough

not very pleasant i might say!!

Danitom

my son(who also uses a steroid nasal spray) has never had trouble with thrush and he has never been told to rinse his mouth after using. My daughter who is on Advair HAS been told to rinse her mouth out after every use. We have been doing so and things have been going well.