Allergy Attack
Pick the best approach to save yourself from threats to eyes, sinuses and lungs.
June 18, 2008— -- Allergies are life's medical traffic jam. Whether you're in the middle of major congestion or a 14-symptom pileup, this time of year is as annoying and painful as it is disruptive and frustrating.
What's worse, no matter what's causing your coughing/sneezing/head-exploding chaos, you can feel lost when it comes to knowing how to eliminate all the stuff, gunk, and goop that's darting through your head. So if you feel stranded on the painful road of allergic symptoms, use this primer to get to the closest exit.
Your Allergy Situation: You have a runny nose and you-ou-ou-ou-ou sneeze! all the time.
Like Cameron Diaz movies, all prescription antihistamines are not made alike. Although they all work by stopping histamines (the things your body releases when you're allergic) from getting to their receptors, Zyrtec (cetrizine) has been shown to be more effective than other prescriptions. With over-the-counter (OTC) medication, the antihistamine diphenhydramine (found in Benadryl) is most effective for quelling an allergy attack.
"It works within a couple of minutes; [other antihistamines] work within a couple of hours," says Dr. Beth Eve Corn, chief of Mount Sinai School of Medicine's allergy clinic. The trade-off for fast action is that Benedryl hits you like a Mack truck -- and puts you to sleep fast. You can take loratadine (found in Claritin) to avoid the drowsy effects.
Tip: If you know you're going to be exposed to allergens (being outside or around a neighbor's pet, for example), take some loratadine several hours before you go. It's also been shown to have a preventive effect.
Your Allergy Situation: Your eyes are as red as the Oscar night carpet.
This time of year, you don't have to travel from LA to NYC to know the meaning of red-eye. While OTC antihistamines can help relieve redness, you're better off with prescription antihistamine drops because they're more effective than the OTC ones and last twice as long -- half a day compared with a few hours. (A 24-hour formula is awaiting FDA approval.) By blocking allergy-causing histamines from their receptors, antihistamines like olopatadine and levocabastine eliminate your au naturel red eyeliner and immediately calm swollen blood vessels in the eye.
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It may take longer for your symptoms to go away, but try an OTC first. Combine an antihistamine with a decongestant that contains pseudoephedrine, which makes breathing easier by shrinking the blood vessels in your nose. Test drive the 12-hour OTC decongestants before you swallow the 24-hour formula, because the decongestants can have a stimulating effect, says Dr. Don McNeil Jr., an allergy expert at Ohio State University.
Tip: Nasal saline -- a combo of salt and water -- is an all-natural decongestant that won't cause rebound congestion, a potential side effect of oxymetazoline, which is found in popular OTC decongestants. It clears out allergy-causing debris and relieves dryness by misting the nostrils with moisture, says Corn.
But use a preservative-free formula like Simply Saline Sterile Saline Nasal Mist. A study at Eastern Virginia Medical School found that benzalkonium chloride, the most common nasal saline preservative, kills infection-fighting cells in the nose.
Or make your own. Combine 1/8 teaspoon iodine-free salt with eight ounces warm water and a sprinkling of baking soda to neutralize the pH. Using an ear syringe, squirt water up one nostril until it comes out the other. Make a new solution for each use to avoid sending bacteria into your nose.
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