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Best otc allergy meds?

post #1 of 10
5/7/11 at 9:22am
Thread Starter 
Been popping generic Claritan (loratidine) for a number of years now and it has worked pretty well.

But this last week has been a killer for me in the Northeast. Wondering if there is anything better on the drug store shelves: Allegra? Zyrtec? Something else?
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post #2 of 10
5/7/11 at 3:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johdus Fanfoozal View Post
Been popping generic Claritan (loratidine) for a number of years now and it has worked pretty well.

But this last week has been a killer for me in the Northeast. Wondering if there is anything better on the drug store shelves: Allegra? Zyrtec? Something else?

both zyrtec and allegra are both stronger than claritin but they can make some people a little drowsy. personally, zyrtec works the best for me.
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post #3 of 10
5/8/11 at 9:23am
I use zyrtec as needed and Singulair before bed. I'm not sure if the zyrtec makes me drowsy...I'm always fucking tired.
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post #4 of 10
5/8/11 at 3:31pm
People can react differently to same medicine so I suggest you give the others a try to see how you react to them. I'd also recommend using a neti pot to flush our your sinuses, that's helped out my allergies a lot.
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post #5 of 10
5/8/11 at 3:44pm
Have you tried Aerius? It's an active metabolite of loratadine, and a lot of the people I know who use it really like it. You should also try pre-treating about a week in advance, if you know the time of year when your allergies are going to flare up (i.e. if you get hayfever every year around this time).
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post #6 of 10
5/8/11 at 6:12pm
For me Allegra is the only one that works with seasonal allergies (really bad right now in NY, btw!)

Benadryl is still the ultimate when you really need relief, but the drowsiness and short half life don't lend themselves to daily use.
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post #7 of 10
5/8/11 at 8:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by innerstyle View Post
People can react differently to same medicine so I suggest you give the others a try to see how you react to them.

+1. Ignore the brand names and check what active ingredient they have in them. Work your way through them. Loratadine, cetirizine, etc.

I used to massively suffer with hayfever for years, until last year. I heard it came in 7 year hormonal cycles, which sounded like total tosh until mine basically disappeared.

Anyway, little things help. Like

- keep your windows closed
- shower before you go to bed instead of the morning, so your pillow doesn't get all that pollen from your hair on it
- try some vaseline around your nostrils. Or, look up HayMax - it's this waxy stuff that'll do a similar job
- go to your GP. I got some extra strength prescription antihistamines when it got really bad
- carry around some eye drops
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post #8 of 10
5/8/11 at 8:51pm
Aerius does wonders for me and, at least in Canada, there's a generic available now.
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post #9 of 10
5/8/11 at 9:14pm
Thread Starter 
Looks like I gotta start experimenting with drugs, again.

I started on Allegra today. It's going to be pollen hell in NYC this week.
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post #10 of 10
5/8/11 at 9:21pm
i can't even breathe, they all suck and all kind of work for awhile before they don't
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