People with seasonal allergies...

[bettymae1121]

Anyone else having a bad day today...or is it just me?



And what sucks is that I didn't used to have problems until about 3 years ago, came out of no where. Now for a week or two each spring and fall I'm a mess. Even the Claritin isn't working any more!

 

[Pakey]

I am dying. I would like to take my eyeballs out and soak them in an anti scratch/burn/etc solution. I have script eyedrops that aren't doing anything.

Sinus rinses help with the rest of it. I find more relief from those than I do from any of the meds.

 

[golfgal]

Anyone else having a bad day today...or is it just me?



And what sucks is that I didn't used to have problems until about 3 years ago, came out of no where. Now for a week or two each spring and fall I'm a mess. Even the Claritin isn't working any more!

Same here-I didn't have allergies until recently. Claritin is still working ok for me but it doesn't' work at all for my kids. I have a prescription for Allegra if they get REALLY bad and that helps. I can't take too much or I get bloody noses.

 

[golfgal]

I am dying. I would like to take my eyeballs out and soak them in an anti scratch/burn/etc solution. I have script eyedrops that aren't doing anything.

Sinus rinses help with the rest of it. I find more relief from those than I do from any of the meds.

DS15 gets allergies in his eyes too. We had to switch him to daily disposable contacts because his eyes were so bad. They also moved him from Patinol to Pataday (not sure how to spell those).

 

[Pakey]

DS15 gets allergies in his eyes too. We had to switch him to daily disposable contacts because his eyes were so bad. They also moved him from Patinol to Pataday (not sure how to spell those).

It was better when I could wear contacts but since the need for bifocals took top shelf, I'm now stuck with the eye itch.

Sinus rinses may help with the bloody noses. It does for me.

 

[golfgal]

It was better when I could wear contacts but since the need for bifocals took top shelf, I'm now stuck with the eye itch.

Sinus rinses may help with the bloody noses. It does for me.

For me it makes them worse. My allergies are mainly in my sinuses-lots of drip down the back of my throat and the meds and the rinses dry out my nose too much (which doesn't get effected by allergies really). If I take claritin every other day or two that keeps it under control for the most part. They REALLY helped our oldest though.

 

[Pakey]

For me it makes them worse. My allergies are mainly in my sinuses-lots of drip down the back of my throat and the meds and the rinses dry out my nose too much (which doesn't get effected by allergies really). If I take claritin every other day or two that keeps it under control for the most part. They REALLY helped our oldest though.

Do you get ear aches? I have that problem too. That's the only negative with the rinses is that it usually increases my ear aches. I walk a fine line trying to decide daily whether the rinses will make the rest of my sinuses feel good enough to offset the ear aches.

 

[golfgal]

Do you get ear aches? I have that problem too. That's the only negative with the rinses is that it usually increases my ear aches. I walk a fine line trying to decide daily whether the rinses will make the rest of my sinuses feel good enough to offset the ear aches.

Not usually, just the drip, drip, drip down the back of my throat. I have negative pressure in my ears from my hearing loss so that may be why??? .

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Nope, it's not just you. Many around this area are having an awful time, including all of us in my household. I talked to my DS's school nurse today and besides him, there were many others in the office with allergy symptoms.

I stripped all beds today and washed everything, time to try to keep the windows closed as well (it's gotten pretty chilly anyway).

 

[minkydog]

Anyone else having a bad day today...or is it just me?



And what sucks is that I didn't used to have problems until about 3 years ago, came out of no where. Now for a week or two each spring and fall I'm a mess. Even the Claritin isn't working any more!

You know? I didn't develop any allergies until I was about 43, but since then I've become allergic to trees, grass and weeds. So I take Allegra almost year-round. Claritin and Zyrtec didn't work for me. I haven't been able to wear mascara in about 3 years due to excessive tearing. I can wear powder eye shadow and a little eyeliner, but my eyes still tear a little. My nose runs a lot and my throat gets scratchy pretty frequently. I'm probably the only person I know who actually looks forward to January and February.

 

[erincon23]

I actually had the reverse -- terrible allergies as a kid (10 shots/week for years), and they went away when I got pregnant!

My DS18, and now DS14, both have horrible allergies. We finally got DS18 on a combination that works -- Zyrtec (well, the generic now -- Costco has them REALLY cheap) and Singulair. We've started DS14 on the same regimen. Claritin is considered a fairly weak allergy pill -- if it doesn't help, try Zyrtec. And if that isn't quite enough, talk to your doctor about adding Singulair -- it takes a few days to really get into your system, but it works. DS has to start it in March before the growing season and doesn't get off it until November some time. Don't necessarily think of a single drug to manage severe allergies -- sometimes it takes a "cocktail" -- and this is perfectly legitimate to do, but talk to your doctor first. Allergies have been horrible this year, so you need to find a way to fight back. Good luck!

 

[ElizK]

My sinuses are going to explode out of my head. It's not going to be pretty: hair, teeth, and eyes everywhere. We have quite the bumper crop of ragweed this year.

Do you get ear aches? I have that problem too. That's the only negative with the rinses is that it usually increases my ear aches. I walk a fine line trying to decide daily whether the rinses will make the rest of my sinuses feel good enough to offset the ear aches.

Pakey, my mom has that problem, too, when she uses the rinse. Make sure you stay vertical for at least 30-60 mins after you use it.

 

[2busy4life]

Sinus rinse is the best thing ever but you have to do it regularly and get the right combination of times per day/week. Also, find that the Neil Med bottle works much better then the Neti-pot. It also prevents my chronic sinus infections from flaring up.

I have really bad allergies year round and sinuses that are too small also. I use sinus rinse every day and twice per day. The occasional day I take a break from one of my two rinses. If I do not do this then my ears hurt, my throat is itchy, eyes water, etc. and my head feels like a big football under water.

From using this now for several years the biggest thing that I figured out is you also have to hold your head the correct way to get the best results. I must have read those instructions four or five times (over several new boxes) to ensure that I was doing it correctly.

I also have to start with the same side (left) all the time because if I start on the right side it gets stuck and then I feel even worse.

Hope this helps everyone!!!!

 

[wickey's friend]

I am dying. I would like to take my eyeballs out and soak them in an anti scratch/burn/etc solution. I have script eyedrops that aren't doing anything.

Sinus rinses help with the rest of it. I find more relief from those than I do from any of the meds.

My sinuses are going to explode out of my head. It's not going to be pretty: hair, teeth, and eyes everywhere. We have quite the bumper crop of ragweed this year.



Pakey, my mom has that problem, too, when she uses the rinse. Make sure you stay vertical for at least 30-60 mins after you use it.

Oh, man -- my eyes are killing me too. I've taken my loratadine, Zaditor eye drops and Afrin. I'm still miserable. I've been resisting going to an alergist, but I think the time has come.

ElizK -- must be ragweed for me too -- I'm in College Station.

 

[LilyWDW]

DS15 gets allergies in his eyes too. We had to switch him to daily disposable contacts because his eyes were so bad. They also moved him from Patinol to Pataday (not sure how to spell those).

I just had to switch to dailies as well because of how bad my eyes have been getting this year. This has been one of the WORSE years I have ever had. My boyfriend has also been having a horrible year, including multiple ear infections caused by the allergy issues.

 

[beachlover9395]

I'm allergic to fescue grass (among other things) and this year has been hellish, no doubt, with crazy high pollen counts. Daily, I take generic Flonase nasal spray, Singulair, loratadine, cetirizine, AND cetirizine-D. Yes, all of this daily. Most people take only 10mg of a daily antihistamine - I take 30mg of two types. Yes, I need to just start on allergy shots, but I need a new allergist/ENT for various reasons. I will eventually have to, because this is totally affecting my quality of life.

Last week, I was sooooo miserable, I had to go to my family doctor and get a steroid shot (Kenalog) because my brain felt like it was going to explode out of the top of my head (sorry so graphic). Within a day - RELIEF!!! Just hate it will only last a few more weeks, and then I may have to go back again depending on the pollen counts. I truly hate pollen!!!

 

[Sparx]

My allergies have been awful lately! I have asthma and allergies (year round, not seasonal.)

I take singulair, flonaze, and allegra year round. If I miss a day of pills, I can't breathe. I get completely stuffed up.

 

[beachlover9395]

I forgot about posting this last night. There's a chain of urgent care clinics, NextCare Urgent Care that has a program called Allergee Remedee. There's one in my area and I've been thinking about calling them. They test you for 60 common allergens and you then take sublingual immunotherapy instead of allergy shots. I'm guessing you can't be on any antihistamine to have this test show the proper results, so it probably won't help me. The RAST test doesn't have this problem. I think the only time I could go off my meds would be in the dead of winter when it's pretty cold outside, and even then I'd still be suffering. But I'm going to call and ask. This may help someone:

http://www.nextcare.com/index.php/what_we_offer/allergy_testing/

Article in a newspaper about this program:

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/year-33461-way-last.html

Here's a video segment from a news channel in Phoenix, AZ:

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/health/nextcare_allergee_remedee_042710