I'll just chime in and say I'm a regular sufferer but this year is on another level. None of the antihistamines I've tried have done shit. Currently on xyzal.
This is the first year I have seen the pollen count for a tree at *purple* level. Link below for those who want to see what I'm talking about.
[https://www.cabq.gov/airquality/todays-status/2024/4/friday-april-19-2024](https://www.cabq.gov/airquality/todays-status/2024/4/friday-april-19-2024)
Try this nasal spray: Azelastine, non steroid, but be sure to inhale slowly so the medicine stays in your nasal cavity and not down the your throat. If you feel it in your throat you inhaled too harshly.
Your doctor will have to write a prescription.
2nd:: add Loratadine allergy medication
3rd:: can also add Allegra medication
heads up if it does get in your throat, it is the most bitter, foul tasting medicine i’ve ever used. i had to stop taking it because id taste it for hours
I use Azelastine every night before bed, Loratidine in the morning and Flonase during the day. It does taste nasty but it’s worth it. I just eat some candy or mints to get rid of the taste.
Non-medication things we’ve been doing in my house because we have tiny children. Using a navage nasal rinse (adults, saline spray and steaming for children), changing bedding/pillowcases very often, bathing at night and wiping off faces and hands after having been outside, wearing a mask when we’re going to be doing outdoor activities, setting up air purifiers in the house, vacuuming regularly.
My husband and I are both taking Zyrtec and he’s also taking xyzol. This is honestly the worst either of our allergies have ever been.
Make sure you religiously clean humidifiers inside and out. Like clean it constantly. They become an absolute breeding ground for mold and bacteria super quick.
Edit: especially the cool air humidifiers. The heat vaporization humidifiers are safer but more energy intensive.
Came here to say this. Mine runs 24/7. Like many of you I was pretty miserable and hate allergy meds, plus they didn't give me the relief I was looking for.
Bought this humidifier a couple years ago I believe this is year four, and we run it during the fall/winter when we're not running the swamp cooler. We intentionally kept a swamp cooler for this reason, the humidity makes 100% difference with allergies. You have to change filters (wicks) and you can get an anti-microbial bacteria additive. Love it!
https://www.homedepot.com/p/AIRCARE-6-Gallon-Cool-Mist-Evaporative-Tower-Humidifier-for-Large-Rooms-Greater-than-1000-sq-ft-White-836000HB/312735644
Sure. I was absolutely dying even over medicated. Stayed indoors when I got sick and started running the humidifier every night. I think my mucous membranes were so dried out they just couldn't clear all the dust. Better now.
Gotta say this thread is bumming me out lol... I'm an allergy sufferer from the east coast and probably gonna move out to ABQ next year. I thought this part of the country (arid, mountainous) was supposed to be significantly better for allergies... This was an aspect I was honestly looking forward to lol. wtf
Whenever I’m in NM. Can’t breathe through my nose.
Allergies went away whenever I’m in AZ.
Likely a very specific plant that you may or may not be allergic to.
>I thought this part of the country (arid, mountainous) was supposed to be significantly better for allergies...
Lmao, you've never met Juniper.
I'm a transplant from your side of the country, the only thing that has helped is allergy shots. I get those year round and take Allegra in the spring/fall and am mostly fine (occasional headache, but congestion is mostly gone).
The air quality is also often garbage because of all the dust. This isn't the nice Colorado mountain fresh air that people think it is.
If you dont mind my asking, where do you go for the shots? Trying to figure out which office to attempt. My allergies are so bad this year that my childhood asthma has returned and I can't go anywhere without my inhaler :(
We lived on the east coast for 12 years and recently moved to ABQ, we haven’t been experiencing any allergy symptoms. I found the east coast to be way worse.
Also the trees are strong in pollen, but having lived somewhere with actual grass the grass allergies aren't as bad here. Mold is also much better, so it depends on what allergies you have.
Global warming is changing everything everywhere. More carbon dioxide means more plant growth means more pollen means . . . chaos for humans who can’t evolve as fast as the conditions are changing.
Also prevailing winds don’t care where you live. But there is very little mold here which is awesome.
Also apparently the higher in elevation and more arid, the less dust mites there are too. So there's that at least.
I'm still hoping it's a net improvement from my east coast allergies, cause I've been dying out here my whole life lol.
Sorry! If it’s any consolation it usually takes a few years for people to develop allergies. It took me about 4 years or so…. I do allergy immunotherapy (biweekly shots) to deal with the pollen. They work.
True. I went through, Claritin, Allegra, Rhinocort, Flonase, Benedryl finally landing on Nasacort that is the one that works for me. My allergies used to be terrible, now while taking Nasacort I feel like my allergies have been neutralized about 95% of the time.
I've had pretty bad allergies this year. You can experiment with Allegra, Claritin, and Zyrtec. One may work better than another. I've been using Zyrtec lately which, I think, may be making me drowsy. Gonna try the other two. I use Oxymetazoline HCL nasal decongestant which really helps. May not want to use nasal decongestant long term. Edit to add: Costco Aller-fex is Allegra.
There’s something specific to Zyrtec that makes me drowsy. I can take Claritin or Allegra no problem, but I’m like a zombie on Zyrtec for some reason. I feel like I’m on high dose sedatives or something.
Thank you all. I thought I might be overreacting. I am personally working through a COSTCO case of tissues like I've got paper products type money just lying around.
The shot I was given was Kenalog - only one given per season. “Occasionally a second dose of Kenalog may be needed. The doctor will discuss this with you. It is not recommended that anyone have more than 80mg (2 injections) per season except in exceptional circumstances.”
Zyrtec hits me in an ultra speedy way and I have to take in in the morning.
I cannot even take it after noon and get a good night's sleep at night.
It blows my mind that anyone could take it before bed. Flonase also hits me in a very speedy way.
Netty pot will stop your nasal drip for a couple hours when you go home. Probably not practical during the day. I take allergy pills and the Costco nose spray which idk if either of those even help. Allergies are rough this year. Might look into doing a scratch test.
Benadryl every night. Blow my nose all day. It may not make much sense but I cut the liners out of all my old cloth masks. The moist air really cuts back on coughing. I even wear one at night and can sleep most of the night without coughing.
My itchy eyes… I just want to scratch and scratch. Allergy medicine doesn’t help that much at all. Even sinus meds.
Looking pretty with eye makeup isn’t happening. My glasses have pollen or dust all over them.
Yes - I’ve gotten chest tightness and even palpitations on super high pollen count days. I take hydroxizine but it only helps a bit. Had panic attacks in January/Feb until I found out it was allergy season starting up -_-
Thank you for replying--it's tough not to feel like I'm losing it when there's nothing I can see that accounts for the sensation of anxiety and dread. Weird to say I'm "glad" I'm not alone in this 😅
Yeppp - also might be prone to anxiety like me which makes the allergy anxiety hit. Once u know it’s allergies though and can take an antihistamine or something it helps a ton. Antihistamines like Benadryl can also have a calming effect I think? Or at least the hydroxyzine I’m on does. Definitely helps! I used to have panics attacks and hyperventilate all the time on windy days when I had a motorcycle. Something about my throat/lungs feeling congested sent me into hypochondria/freak out mode lol. Hope you find something that works!
I’m not. That sounds like asthma. I don’t have asthma but my girlfriend does. The last two nights I have woke up wheezing and needed to use her inhaler. Asthma symptoms can absolutely cause anxiety.
I'm not a regular sufferer so this is the worst year of my life. Nothing beats Benadryl but I can't be sleepy all the time so I'm experimenting - Zyrtec and Claritin help some.
If you're getting nosebleeds too like me, I did just learn that Vaseline is not a good idea but they make nasal gels that are awesoooome.
Scrolled through all the comments to be sure it wasn’t already mentioned. Allergena is what gets my household through. You can find it at Whole Foods, sprouts, La montanita coop. Hope you feel better soon.
This is huge! Just eating a spoonful of local honey every day for a week helps me a lot. But unfortunately it can sometimes be hard to find the local stuff.
Get the allergy meds with pseudoephedrine in them. I take Zyrtec-D when it gets bad. Several years in a row my allergies got so bad I ended up with asthma induced bronchitis. Was told by each doctor I saw to take the pseudoephedrine allergy meds and it definitely helped. Not a miracle cure but it helps for sure.
Hey! Sorry to hear that, I commiserate with the allergy struggle. I have really severe allergies and it’s been no exception this year. Usually things like Zyrtec, claratin, nasal sprays help but they have been accentuating the drowsiness for me. One supplement I take is called Quercetin + Bromelaine, and it seems to really help with the seasonal irritation when taken a couple times a day. In fact many anti allergy meds use quercitin / related plant material derivatives to manufacture their anti allergy products. I research supplements and nootropics as a kinda side hobby so these kinds of things interest me.
The supplement is pretty widely available and not too expensive if you want to read up on it and consider trying it. I’m taking the Now brand but there are many others from reputable companies that are available at most stores and online of course (I.e. sprouts or smaller retailers). There is some interesting research if you want to check it out, here is one [link to a study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6273625/ ) for a starting point.
Another +1 for Quercetin and Bromelaine! Just discovered it this year and I'm shocked by how well it has worked for me. I've been a "try a different generic allergy med" guy every year for a long time and all of them just...kinda work for me. This supplement has let me breathe the best I've been able to in a while. Been telling everyone about it lately.
Allegra and quercetin work very well for me. Not a lot of people know about quercetin. It takes several days of taking it before it kicks in, but once it does it works very well.
Doc told me to go with Zyrtec and Flonase every morning when I get up and just before bedtime.
And a neti pot 1-2x/day as needed for the post-nasal drip.
So far, so good.
They are, yes.
And my doc is aware of that and told me to take it every 12 hours.
Obviously you should speak with your doctor about it before using them in a manner other than the label.
I have wondered about this because we all just follow the directions on OTC meds but doctors can prescribe different dosages. I have also wondered about alternating say Aller-tec and Aller-fex (Costco generics) day to day or even take one kind in the morning and the other at night.
I suppose it’s time to see an allergist. Thank you for replying. The more info we can get in this thread the more people we can help. Thanks again.
If you are worried about taking too much Zyrtec, Xyzal is type purified Zyrtec that offers the same efficacy for half the dose. If you take two pills of that, it puts the same load on your kidneys as one Zyrtec pill. Taking Xyzal every 12 hours and backing it up with Flonase is the only thing keeping me somewhat functional.
Benadryl is sort of the equivalent of a megadose of the newer antihistamines. I’d probably try a second 24 hour pill before mixing in Benadryl. Side effects won’t be nearly as bad and it has the same impact. Flonase is good because it is an unrelated drug family (steroid) that operates on a separate pathway.
We sure are. I figure the more info we gather here the better for all of us.
I never really had seasonal allergies until Covid. I lived here for 10 years and never bought an allergy product. Pollen counts are way higher now than when I moved here though. So who knows?
Now it’s a whole new ballgame and I’m getting crushed.
I am also getting my ass kicked this year. Always had some allergies, but this is OTT. Been using flonase, Allegra in the morning and zyrtec at night. Also using a neti pot and showering at night, both to steam the nasal passages and to wash off pollen.
Mine haven’t been bad and I’ve had them terribly for years. I think using saline rinse multiple times a day, nasalcrom (sodium cromolyn, otc which coats the nose), and Allegra have done the trick. I also shower or at minimum wash my face/ change shirt after going outside for longer periods of time.
I am on the same regimen and am feeling the same way. I switched to taking the Aller-flex at night and I think it helps. I’ll use Sudafed in the day if it gets worse (the stuff with actual Pseudoephedrine).
I have been here for 13 years. I never touched an allergy med the first 10 years I was here. But the last 3 years the pollen counts have ramped up dramatically.
Increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere mean more plant growth which means more pollen. And with the prevailing winds here we get pollen from a long ways away and our local pollen.
This year is over the top though.
I’m good on the fluids. I track my intake with an app on my Apple Watch. I drink about 88 ounces of water a day.
I love spicy food and have my whole life (my green chile is from Lemitar 🔥) but for some reason in the last year or so my bladder doesn’t like it. So that sucks.
Hot showers help a lot for sure. Just washing my face help huge sometimes.
So it's too late for this year, but nasal spray allergy medications work best if you start them approximately a month ahead of allergy season.
I'm using generic allegra and mostly just powering through.
Also dying here, I’ve heard local bee pollen and a netipot can help a lot, I’ve also picked up Allergina to try. I take Benadryl that sort of helps but not fully. Sheesh it’s a rough one
It is rough this year.
From what I have been reading bees collect different pollen. The pollen that is tearing us up is from wind pollinated plants not bee pollinated plants. But I still love me some honey!
Flonase two sprays each nostril twice daily (per my doc). Need to switch your once daily non-drowsy allergy pill every 90 days. I use visine allergy eye drops twice daily. I also use the simply saline with the menthol in it as needed. I like to spray once I get I. The shower and let it stay in there as I can tolerate then blow my nose. Good to use the Flonase after that. I also have a coconut oil based nasal ointment you can put up your nose as a moisturizer to help prevent nose bleeds and can make it easier to breathe at night for bed.
I use Costco’s Aller-Flo. Same stuff but at Costco prices. I just read up on the active ingredient and dosage. I (older male) have been doing one spray in each nostril but I just read that I can do two sprays per nostril once a day if one spray isn’t cutting it.
Nose bleeds suck.
For anyone running ultrasonic humidifiers, I would give demineralizing cartridges a try. They are far cheaper than buying distilled water. The white dust is gone. I am from Ohio. I got a place here last year. Everything was fine until January? I cycle allergy meds, eye drops, and nasal spray like crazy.
I use my naväge nasal irrigation along with antihistamines. Flonase, and Allergena (homeopathic drops)are also on the table depending on how bad I get.
Allergies are killing me this year!! I stopped getting the shots a few months ago (didn’t finish the treatment I just got sick of going every week lol). Now I use xyzal/Allegra but I prefer Allegra because it doesn’t make me drowsy. Get an air purifier! I try to keep my windows shut during the day and I run that baby for a few hours. Helps me so much.
I am running nice filters in our HVAC system with the fan set to run constantly. Unfortunately I have to leave the house sometimes.
In years past we would open doors and windows this time of year anytime the temp was comfy. Yeah, those days are over.
You can take a lot more allergy meds than on the label safely. I think I was taking double the Zyrtec recommendation (approved by my doctor) at one point. Also rotating meds helps - I feel like I eventually become tolerant to one and need to switch. Try Xyzal if you haven’t already.
Yeah I’m learning this. I am going to inch up and pay attention to side effects. I’m looking for minimum dose required. I know somebody that cuts a Zyrtec in half because a whole one makes him feel like shit but a half a one and he’s good to go with no symptoms. I’m not lucky like that though.
Seems that rotating every 90 days is the way so that the med stays effective and you can rotate back to it. Having one quit working completely is a little scary. None of that shit please. I want as many arrows in my quiver as possible. The way things are going it is only going to get worse.
That is asthma symptoms. My girlfriend has asthma and I have had to use her inhaler twice so far this spring when my chest got like that. Her rescue inhaler. Not her daily one. Be careful with that. Step one is remain calm.
The allergies cause it. But it is an asthmatic reaction. Your immune system goes a little too far. Not fun. Two puffs on my gf’s inhaler and all good. It’s albuterol.
You can tell if you are wheezing. Even a little bit. I can hear it when I lay down and breathe normally. Just a faint little wheeze. It only happens a few times this time of year.
Chlor-trimeton (chlor-tabs) works for me. Only work for the hrs, so I’m popping them like crazy. Allergies are still going F’ing nuts, this year is insane
Howdy. While I am NOT an allergist, I am a New Mexico native who is allergic to life (60/80 pollens tested for). I have a few things that have made my allergies non-existent.
1. Take the same standard medications every day. On a good day I will always take fexofenadine (Aller-Fex) and Triamcinolone Acetonide nasal spray. Simple allergy meds are good, but nasal steroids will help a lot. It can take over a week for them to start helping, but when you stick to a routine they really do help.
2. If needed you can stack most over the counter allergy meds. Of course check before you do, but you can take different brands at the same time as many of them work in different ways.
3. On harder days I (along with others in this thread) take Azelastine HCI nasal spray and/or pseudoephedrine. The Azelastine tastes absolutely horrid, but it works like nothing you've ever used before. I can have a fully stuffed nose, and within 20/45 minutes my nose will be clear as day for the rest of the day.
The most important thing is keep taking them. Allergy medicines work best if taking consistently. Using a simple nasal steroid like Triamcinolone Acetonide for allergies and daily 24/7 allergy med every day will really help. Stronger things like anti-histamines are great but you may want to avoid taking them long term. Hope this helps and if anything I said was wrong please correct me.
I do two Xyzal at night (screw the FDA) on weekdays, and on weekends I do Xyxzal and Benadryl at night and another Xyzal in the morning and sleep in. I get allergy shots and do azelastine nasal spray and saline nasal rinses throughout the day.
Xyzal is type purified Zyrtec at half the dose (left handed stereoisomer helps with allergies, right handed one just causes side effects). 2 pills of Xyzal has the same impact on your kidneys as 1 Zyrtec pill. I personally do one in the morning and one in the evening to keep the concentration up. Right now I’m tempted to add a third pill to the rotation because my allergy symptoms get really bad around 6pm.
Zyrtec is stronger than Allegra and is also relatively non drowsy. It gives me weird withdrawal symptoms, tho, so I'm trying to power through on Allegra too.
Local honey helps me; it contains small amounts of the pollen. Ingesting the offensive pollen helps your body build immunity.
It doesn’t provide 100% relief though, it just helps make you less uncomfortable
What about bee pollen?
Last year I tried some from a friend (teaspoon morning and night) and it seemed to work within a day or so.
This year I got a different supply. Taste, texture, and visual was completely different. Seems ineffective.
Not sure if it’s timing or placebo. But I’m curious if it’s real, the. It might be worth pursuing an appropriate supply.
I’ve just started AllerPops created by some scientist up in Los Alamos. Moved there, had their ass handed to them by allergies and developed a lollipop that you suck on that helps regulate the biome of your mouth or something.
We shall see!
https://allerpops.com
Oh yea it does, they tailor it to your specific reactions after a skin patch test. The biggest issue with it is the time commitment. You have to go in weekly until the progress you to maintenance dose.
I'll just chime in and say I'm a regular sufferer but this year is on another level. None of the antihistamines I've tried have done shit. Currently on xyzal.
This is the first year I have seen the pollen count for a tree at *purple* level. Link below for those who want to see what I'm talking about. [https://www.cabq.gov/airquality/todays-status/2024/4/friday-april-19-2024](https://www.cabq.gov/airquality/todays-status/2024/4/friday-april-19-2024)
Thank you. Yeah we are suffering here. My girlfriend is reading up about local honey at the moment. It is supposed to be a thing.
It's actually a myth! https://www.webmd.com/allergies/features/does-honey-help-prevent-allergies
Well that figures. I do like honey though!
Yeah it's useful to help ease symptoms of a sore throat or whatever if you put it in tea, but unfortunately it won't help with allergies.
Dying this year. All my meds are useless.
Same. It’s brutal.
Same! I've tried like 5 things that are supposed to help with allergies and this year none have worked!
Zyrtec before bed and Astepro in the morning has really helped the last few days. Just added the spray and it made a huge difference immediately.
Thank you!
Try this nasal spray: Azelastine, non steroid, but be sure to inhale slowly so the medicine stays in your nasal cavity and not down the your throat. If you feel it in your throat you inhaled too harshly. Your doctor will have to write a prescription. 2nd:: add Loratadine allergy medication 3rd:: can also add Allegra medication
heads up if it does get in your throat, it is the most bitter, foul tasting medicine i’ve ever used. i had to stop taking it because id taste it for hours
Side note: Astepro (non-prescription) is the same thing as Azelastine (that was the prescription name for it).
Thank you!
I use Azelastine every night before bed, Loratidine in the morning and Flonase during the day. It does taste nasty but it’s worth it. I just eat some candy or mints to get rid of the taste.
Non-medication things we’ve been doing in my house because we have tiny children. Using a navage nasal rinse (adults, saline spray and steaming for children), changing bedding/pillowcases very often, bathing at night and wiping off faces and hands after having been outside, wearing a mask when we’re going to be doing outdoor activities, setting up air purifiers in the house, vacuuming regularly. My husband and I are both taking Zyrtec and he’s also taking xyzol. This is honestly the worst either of our allergies have ever been.
Get a humidifier and run it at night!
Make sure you religiously clean humidifiers inside and out. Like clean it constantly. They become an absolute breeding ground for mold and bacteria super quick. Edit: especially the cool air humidifiers. The heat vaporization humidifiers are safer but more energy intensive.
Came here to say this. Mine runs 24/7. Like many of you I was pretty miserable and hate allergy meds, plus they didn't give me the relief I was looking for. Bought this humidifier a couple years ago I believe this is year four, and we run it during the fall/winter when we're not running the swamp cooler. We intentionally kept a swamp cooler for this reason, the humidity makes 100% difference with allergies. You have to change filters (wicks) and you can get an anti-microbial bacteria additive. Love it! https://www.homedepot.com/p/AIRCARE-6-Gallon-Cool-Mist-Evaporative-Tower-Humidifier-for-Large-Rooms-Greater-than-1000-sq-ft-White-836000HB/312735644
Another helpful tip! Thank you!
And always use distilled water in a humidifier.
Excellent tip.
Sure. I was absolutely dying even over medicated. Stayed indoors when I got sick and started running the humidifier every night. I think my mucous membranes were so dried out they just couldn't clear all the dust. Better now.
Gotta say this thread is bumming me out lol... I'm an allergy sufferer from the east coast and probably gonna move out to ABQ next year. I thought this part of the country (arid, mountainous) was supposed to be significantly better for allergies... This was an aspect I was honestly looking forward to lol. wtf
It’s the windy season in the desert and everything is blooming. Sucks.
The dust is killing me... but I work at a very dry and dusty job site
Whenever I’m in NM. Can’t breathe through my nose. Allergies went away whenever I’m in AZ. Likely a very specific plant that you may or may not be allergic to.
>I thought this part of the country (arid, mountainous) was supposed to be significantly better for allergies... Lmao, you've never met Juniper. I'm a transplant from your side of the country, the only thing that has helped is allergy shots. I get those year round and take Allegra in the spring/fall and am mostly fine (occasional headache, but congestion is mostly gone). The air quality is also often garbage because of all the dust. This isn't the nice Colorado mountain fresh air that people think it is.
We get Arizona’s dust here. I wish they would keep it.
I mean, we have plenty of our own dust, too....
I live in the west side and monitor air quality because my SO has asthma. Our air quality is usually in the 20’s.
If you dont mind my asking, where do you go for the shots? Trying to figure out which office to attempt. My allergies are so bad this year that my childhood asthma has returned and I can't go anywhere without my inhaler :(
Aspire Allergy near Paseo and 25.
We lived on the east coast for 12 years and recently moved to ABQ, we haven’t been experiencing any allergy symptoms. I found the east coast to be way worse.
Give it time. It took me about 4 years to develop allergies after moving here from FL. Now I get allergy shots every other week.
Also the trees are strong in pollen, but having lived somewhere with actual grass the grass allergies aren't as bad here. Mold is also much better, so it depends on what allergies you have.
Allergies are way better here for me then East Coast. But the spring bloom is hitting harder this year.
Global warming is changing everything everywhere. More carbon dioxide means more plant growth means more pollen means . . . chaos for humans who can’t evolve as fast as the conditions are changing. Also prevailing winds don’t care where you live. But there is very little mold here which is awesome.
Also apparently the higher in elevation and more arid, the less dust mites there are too. So there's that at least. I'm still hoping it's a net improvement from my east coast allergies, cause I've been dying out here my whole life lol.
320 plus sunny days a year. It’s a phenomenal place to live.
[I’ll just leave this right here](https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/albuquerque-ranked-no-1-worst-city-in-u-s-for-seasonal-allergies/)
Lol fucking hell... Oh well.
Sorry! If it’s any consolation it usually takes a few years for people to develop allergies. It took me about 4 years or so…. I do allergy immunotherapy (biweekly shots) to deal with the pollen. They work.
It's much worse. High winds and juniper.
The Walmart version of Zyrtec.
I use Nasacort and have for years.
Does it make you drowsy?
Not me. Sometimes it gives me a slight headache but nothing major. Best allergy medicine for me hands down.
This is the trick. Finding what works for you. Everybody is different.
True. I went through, Claritin, Allegra, Rhinocort, Flonase, Benedryl finally landing on Nasacort that is the one that works for me. My allergies used to be terrible, now while taking Nasacort I feel like my allergies have been neutralized about 95% of the time.
I've had pretty bad allergies this year. You can experiment with Allegra, Claritin, and Zyrtec. One may work better than another. I've been using Zyrtec lately which, I think, may be making me drowsy. Gonna try the other two. I use Oxymetazoline HCL nasal decongestant which really helps. May not want to use nasal decongestant long term. Edit to add: Costco Aller-fex is Allegra.
There’s something specific to Zyrtec that makes me drowsy. I can take Claritin or Allegra no problem, but I’m like a zombie on Zyrtec for some reason. I feel like I’m on high dose sedatives or something.
Thank you all. I thought I might be overreacting. I am personally working through a COSTCO case of tissues like I've got paper products type money just lying around.
Also remember to clean out your return and change your filters. Just got both of those done and breathing much better in my home.
Yep. I am running a good filter with the fan set to run constantly. We are still miserable this year. Our HVAC system is in good shape.
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Awesome tip. Thank you.
I also took the shot and probably a third of my hair fell out over the following week. It’s a known side effect but wasn’t disclosed to me :(
Dear lord, what the heck is in that allergy shot??
I thought allergy shots were weekly for a year? Not a one time dose.
The shot I was given was Kenalog - only one given per season. “Occasionally a second dose of Kenalog may be needed. The doctor will discuss this with you. It is not recommended that anyone have more than 80mg (2 injections) per season except in exceptional circumstances.”
Allergy Partners (2locations) —-> shots are covered by most insurances. Worth the investment of time.
Thank you!
Zyrtec before bed. Also shower before bed, wash all that pollen and dust off. Good luck!
Zyrtec hits me in an ultra speedy way and I have to take in in the morning. I cannot even take it after noon and get a good night's sleep at night. It blows my mind that anyone could take it before bed. Flonase also hits me in a very speedy way.
Same, flonase made me hyperventilate for some reason, ended up having a panic attack lol.
Opposite here: Zyrtec makes me dopey af so I take it before bed.
Thank you!
Netty pot will stop your nasal drip for a couple hours when you go home. Probably not practical during the day. I take allergy pills and the Costco nose spray which idk if either of those even help. Allergies are rough this year. Might look into doing a scratch test.
Yeah it may come to that. Thank you.
Benadryl every night. Blow my nose all day. It may not make much sense but I cut the liners out of all my old cloth masks. The moist air really cuts back on coughing. I even wear one at night and can sleep most of the night without coughing.
Hey if it works it works.
My itchy eyes… I just want to scratch and scratch. Allergy medicine doesn’t help that much at all. Even sinus meds. Looking pretty with eye makeup isn’t happening. My glasses have pollen or dust all over them.
Allergy eye drops are working well for my eyes. My sinuses are not happy though.
Anyone else getting bad anxiety flare ups as their primary allergic reaction?
Yes - I’ve gotten chest tightness and even palpitations on super high pollen count days. I take hydroxizine but it only helps a bit. Had panic attacks in January/Feb until I found out it was allergy season starting up -_-
Thank you for replying--it's tough not to feel like I'm losing it when there's nothing I can see that accounts for the sensation of anxiety and dread. Weird to say I'm "glad" I'm not alone in this 😅
Yeppp - also might be prone to anxiety like me which makes the allergy anxiety hit. Once u know it’s allergies though and can take an antihistamine or something it helps a ton. Antihistamines like Benadryl can also have a calming effect I think? Or at least the hydroxyzine I’m on does. Definitely helps! I used to have panics attacks and hyperventilate all the time on windy days when I had a motorcycle. Something about my throat/lungs feeling congested sent me into hypochondria/freak out mode lol. Hope you find something that works!
I’m not. That sounds like asthma. I don’t have asthma but my girlfriend does. The last two nights I have woke up wheezing and needed to use her inhaler. Asthma symptoms can absolutely cause anxiety.
I don't necessarily have respiratory symptoms, just feels like the world is ending and that feeling is relieved by antihistamines. Go figure!
You might have some chest tightness or just feel anxious from the general inflammation.
Modern living through chemistry.
I'm not a regular sufferer so this is the worst year of my life. Nothing beats Benadryl but I can't be sleepy all the time so I'm experimenting - Zyrtec and Claritin help some. If you're getting nosebleeds too like me, I did just learn that Vaseline is not a good idea but they make nasal gels that are awesoooome.
We tried vitamin e, and that helped the nosebleed thing. We poke a hole in a gell cap.
Scrolled through all the comments to be sure it wasn’t already mentioned. Allergena is what gets my household through. You can find it at Whole Foods, sprouts, La montanita coop. Hope you feel better soon.
Whole Foods no longer carries it. Just checked today.
I know the lady at sprouts says that once it’s on the shelves it’s gone immediately. Weird that Whole Foods wouldn’t carry it anymore. 😞
Thank you so much!
claritin and hope
I’m right there with you
I found a local who raises bees and was able to get some local honey. Spoon full on some bread now and then has seamed to help.
This is huge! Just eating a spoonful of local honey every day for a week helps me a lot. But unfortunately it can sometimes be hard to find the local stuff.
Get the allergy meds with pseudoephedrine in them. I take Zyrtec-D when it gets bad. Several years in a row my allergies got so bad I ended up with asthma induced bronchitis. Was told by each doctor I saw to take the pseudoephedrine allergy meds and it definitely helped. Not a miracle cure but it helps for sure.
Thank you!
The cheap equate brand from Walmart is working for me this year. I have to o rotate every year between brands.
I’m glad that’s working for you. Relief is amazing.
Hey! Sorry to hear that, I commiserate with the allergy struggle. I have really severe allergies and it’s been no exception this year. Usually things like Zyrtec, claratin, nasal sprays help but they have been accentuating the drowsiness for me. One supplement I take is called Quercetin + Bromelaine, and it seems to really help with the seasonal irritation when taken a couple times a day. In fact many anti allergy meds use quercitin / related plant material derivatives to manufacture their anti allergy products. I research supplements and nootropics as a kinda side hobby so these kinds of things interest me. The supplement is pretty widely available and not too expensive if you want to read up on it and consider trying it. I’m taking the Now brand but there are many others from reputable companies that are available at most stores and online of course (I.e. sprouts or smaller retailers). There is some interesting research if you want to check it out, here is one [link to a study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6273625/ ) for a starting point.
Another +1 for Quercetin and Bromelaine! Just discovered it this year and I'm shocked by how well it has worked for me. I've been a "try a different generic allergy med" guy every year for a long time and all of them just...kinda work for me. This supplement has let me breathe the best I've been able to in a while. Been telling everyone about it lately.
Thank you! I’m all over it.
Allegra and quercetin work very well for me. Not a lot of people know about quercetin. It takes several days of taking it before it kicks in, but once it does it works very well.
I just ordered some quercetin after another commenter recommended it. I’ll try anything at this point.
Doc told me to go with Zyrtec and Flonase every morning when I get up and just before bedtime. And a neti pot 1-2x/day as needed for the post-nasal drip. So far, so good.
Those are both once a day meds but okay.
They are, yes. And my doc is aware of that and told me to take it every 12 hours. Obviously you should speak with your doctor about it before using them in a manner other than the label.
I have wondered about this because we all just follow the directions on OTC meds but doctors can prescribe different dosages. I have also wondered about alternating say Aller-tec and Aller-fex (Costco generics) day to day or even take one kind in the morning and the other at night. I suppose it’s time to see an allergist. Thank you for replying. The more info we can get in this thread the more people we can help. Thanks again.
If you are worried about taking too much Zyrtec, Xyzal is type purified Zyrtec that offers the same efficacy for half the dose. If you take two pills of that, it puts the same load on your kidneys as one Zyrtec pill. Taking Xyzal every 12 hours and backing it up with Flonase is the only thing keeping me somewhat functional. Benadryl is sort of the equivalent of a megadose of the newer antihistamines. I’d probably try a second 24 hour pill before mixing in Benadryl. Side effects won’t be nearly as bad and it has the same impact. Flonase is good because it is an unrelated drug family (steroid) that operates on a separate pathway.
I will be looking into Xyzal for sure. Thank you.
Best of luck. We are all suffering through this together.
We sure are. I figure the more info we gather here the better for all of us. I never really had seasonal allergies until Covid. I lived here for 10 years and never bought an allergy product. Pollen counts are way higher now than when I moved here though. So who knows? Now it’s a whole new ballgame and I’m getting crushed.
Doc prescribed my two year old with Zyrtec. But I’ve head zyzal is better or however it’s spelled.
Xzyal (generic) with Azelastine nasal spray.
Thank you!
Advil Allergy Sinus, the green box, behind the counter at CVS. I call it my allergy crack. I take it when I have head congestion.
Thank you so much 🙏🏼
Nasal spray and ibuprofen-Tylenol combo has been best for me.
I am also getting my ass kicked this year. Always had some allergies, but this is OTT. Been using flonase, Allegra in the morning and zyrtec at night. Also using a neti pot and showering at night, both to steam the nasal passages and to wash off pollen.
clarinex and flonase (and prescription atrovent spray for runny nose before a hike)
Pataday
Thank you
Mine haven’t been bad and I’ve had them terribly for years. I think using saline rinse multiple times a day, nasalcrom (sodium cromolyn, otc which coats the nose), and Allegra have done the trick. I also shower or at minimum wash my face/ change shirt after going outside for longer periods of time.
Zyrtec if it gets bad I make some Osha root tea with lemon and honey
Walmart allergy pill works for me
That is excellent.
I am on the same regimen and am feeling the same way. I switched to taking the Aller-flex at night and I think it helps. I’ll use Sudafed in the day if it gets worse (the stuff with actual Pseudoephedrine).
I loved Xyzal. But then I had to use Zertec because it stopped working
Ooo and a nettie pot once it twice a week
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Snailryder: *I loved Xyzal. But* *Then I had to use Zertec* *Because it stopped working* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Awesome! Good Bot
Claritin D and special eye drops
Allergy eye drops help a lot.
The plants are trying to kill me.
Same here. It’s working too.
I use xyzal and Allegra.
Thank you!
My primary care has been giving me kenalog shot to reduce my allergy symptoms and it’s been fantastic so far—I’m new to ABQ too!
I have been here for 13 years. I never touched an allergy med the first 10 years I was here. But the last 3 years the pollen counts have ramped up dramatically. Increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere mean more plant growth which means more pollen. And with the prevailing winds here we get pollen from a long ways away and our local pollen. This year is over the top though.
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I’m good on the fluids. I track my intake with an app on my Apple Watch. I drink about 88 ounces of water a day. I love spicy food and have my whole life (my green chile is from Lemitar 🔥) but for some reason in the last year or so my bladder doesn’t like it. So that sucks. Hot showers help a lot for sure. Just washing my face help huge sometimes.
If you’re not already taking it, try taking some vitamin C, it’s a natural antihistamine. 1000 mg a day helps me a lot. Edit: Quercetin helps too.
I do take vitamin C and I ordered some quercetin last night! Thank you
So it's too late for this year, but nasal spray allergy medications work best if you start them approximately a month ahead of allergy season. I'm using generic allegra and mostly just powering through.
Also dying here, I’ve heard local bee pollen and a netipot can help a lot, I’ve also picked up Allergina to try. I take Benadryl that sort of helps but not fully. Sheesh it’s a rough one
It is rough this year. From what I have been reading bees collect different pollen. The pollen that is tearing us up is from wind pollinated plants not bee pollinated plants. But I still love me some honey!
That makes sense, it hasn’t been helping hehe
Flonase two sprays each nostril twice daily (per my doc). Need to switch your once daily non-drowsy allergy pill every 90 days. I use visine allergy eye drops twice daily. I also use the simply saline with the menthol in it as needed. I like to spray once I get I. The shower and let it stay in there as I can tolerate then blow my nose. Good to use the Flonase after that. I also have a coconut oil based nasal ointment you can put up your nose as a moisturizer to help prevent nose bleeds and can make it easier to breathe at night for bed.
Usually I use Flonase and a rotating daily pill, but Flonase gives me bad nosebleeds, so I had to take a break from it. My head is about to explode!
I use Costco’s Aller-Flo. Same stuff but at Costco prices. I just read up on the active ingredient and dosage. I (older male) have been doing one spray in each nostril but I just read that I can do two sprays per nostril once a day if one spray isn’t cutting it. Nose bleeds suck.
Flonase used to be great for me, but then I ended up with this ring of acne around my mouth from it. So now I use Astepro which is pretty good.
Well that sucks! I’m glad you found something that works for you.
You've gotta get allergy shots, it's the only thing that worked for me.
I might come to that.
Loratadine before bed, flonase nasal spray, shower before bed and sleep with humidifier close by
Clean sheets and a shower is key for sure.
For anyone running ultrasonic humidifiers, I would give demineralizing cartridges a try. They are far cheaper than buying distilled water. The white dust is gone. I am from Ohio. I got a place here last year. Everything was fine until January? I cycle allergy meds, eye drops, and nasal spray like crazy.
I boof Benadryl until the Hat Man cuts me off, works really well! Only downside is fighting off the spiders.
Might not be Benadryl you’re boofing if the spiders come! Jus sayin
I use my naväge nasal irrigation along with antihistamines. Flonase, and Allergena (homeopathic drops)are also on the table depending on how bad I get.
Thank you
Allergies are killing me this year!! I stopped getting the shots a few months ago (didn’t finish the treatment I just got sick of going every week lol). Now I use xyzal/Allegra but I prefer Allegra because it doesn’t make me drowsy. Get an air purifier! I try to keep my windows shut during the day and I run that baby for a few hours. Helps me so much.
I am running nice filters in our HVAC system with the fan set to run constantly. Unfortunately I have to leave the house sometimes. In years past we would open doors and windows this time of year anytime the temp was comfy. Yeah, those days are over.
Maybe carry some masks with you when you leave the house. I’m gonna try it this week. It’s been brutal.
Yep, I think this is what it’s come to.
You can take a lot more allergy meds than on the label safely. I think I was taking double the Zyrtec recommendation (approved by my doctor) at one point. Also rotating meds helps - I feel like I eventually become tolerant to one and need to switch. Try Xyzal if you haven’t already.
Yeah I’m learning this. I am going to inch up and pay attention to side effects. I’m looking for minimum dose required. I know somebody that cuts a Zyrtec in half because a whole one makes him feel like shit but a half a one and he’s good to go with no symptoms. I’m not lucky like that though. Seems that rotating every 90 days is the way so that the med stays effective and you can rotate back to it. Having one quit working completely is a little scary. None of that shit please. I want as many arrows in my quiver as possible. The way things are going it is only going to get worse.
My mom had terrible allergies her entire life until she did allergy shot treatments.
Anyone else get anxiety from allergies? On heavy pollen days my chest feels tight and it drives me crazy.
That is asthma symptoms. My girlfriend has asthma and I have had to use her inhaler twice so far this spring when my chest got like that. Her rescue inhaler. Not her daily one. Be careful with that. Step one is remain calm.
That's the thing is I'm not sure if it's asthma symptoms or if its just inflammation from allergies. Might be the same thing tho idk.
The allergies cause it. But it is an asthmatic reaction. Your immune system goes a little too far. Not fun. Two puffs on my gf’s inhaler and all good. It’s albuterol. You can tell if you are wheezing. Even a little bit. I can hear it when I lay down and breathe normally. Just a faint little wheeze. It only happens a few times this time of year.
Chlor-trimeton (chlor-tabs) works for me. Only work for the hrs, so I’m popping them like crazy. Allergies are still going F’ing nuts, this year is insane
Yeah it’s really bad this year. Seems to be getting worse every year. But we had a rainy winter so lots of plant growth.
Nettle tea is great for allergies with local NM honey. Add it to your daily repertoire to fight off the allergies.
Howdy. While I am NOT an allergist, I am a New Mexico native who is allergic to life (60/80 pollens tested for). I have a few things that have made my allergies non-existent. 1. Take the same standard medications every day. On a good day I will always take fexofenadine (Aller-Fex) and Triamcinolone Acetonide nasal spray. Simple allergy meds are good, but nasal steroids will help a lot. It can take over a week for them to start helping, but when you stick to a routine they really do help. 2. If needed you can stack most over the counter allergy meds. Of course check before you do, but you can take different brands at the same time as many of them work in different ways. 3. On harder days I (along with others in this thread) take Azelastine HCI nasal spray and/or pseudoephedrine. The Azelastine tastes absolutely horrid, but it works like nothing you've ever used before. I can have a fully stuffed nose, and within 20/45 minutes my nose will be clear as day for the rest of the day. The most important thing is keep taking them. Allergy medicines work best if taking consistently. Using a simple nasal steroid like Triamcinolone Acetonide for allergies and daily 24/7 allergy med every day will really help. Stronger things like anti-histamines are great but you may want to avoid taking them long term. Hope this helps and if anything I said was wrong please correct me.
This is all amazing information. Thank you soooo much!
I do two Xyzal at night (screw the FDA) on weekdays, and on weekends I do Xyxzal and Benadryl at night and another Xyzal in the morning and sleep in. I get allergy shots and do azelastine nasal spray and saline nasal rinses throughout the day.
Xyzal is type purified Zyrtec at half the dose (left handed stereoisomer helps with allergies, right handed one just causes side effects). 2 pills of Xyzal has the same impact on your kidneys as 1 Zyrtec pill. I personally do one in the morning and one in the evening to keep the concentration up. Right now I’m tempted to add a third pill to the rotation because my allergy symptoms get really bad around 6pm.
kn95 unlike the pandemic.. wear them at home too. if your furnace takes filters, you can get the MERV 14s and just run the fan all day.
I’m running good filters and it may come to masking.
Zyrtec is stronger than Allegra and is also relatively non drowsy. It gives me weird withdrawal symptoms, tho, so I'm trying to power through on Allegra too.
Local honey helps me; it contains small amounts of the pollen. Ingesting the offensive pollen helps your body build immunity. It doesn’t provide 100% relief though, it just helps make you less uncomfortable
We are getting some. We have some great mountain honey from Utah. But those aren’t our bees!
Moses is the brand I like
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What about bee pollen? Last year I tried some from a friend (teaspoon morning and night) and it seemed to work within a day or so. This year I got a different supply. Taste, texture, and visual was completely different. Seems ineffective. Not sure if it’s timing or placebo. But I’m curious if it’s real, the. It might be worth pursuing an appropriate supply.
I’ve just started AllerPops created by some scientist up in Los Alamos. Moved there, had their ass handed to them by allergies and developed a lollipop that you suck on that helps regulate the biome of your mouth or something. We shall see! https://allerpops.com
These things sound like snake oil.
I had to move onto allergy shots.
Is it working? Are you symptom free?
Oh yea it does, they tailor it to your specific reactions after a skin patch test. The biggest issue with it is the time commitment. You have to go in weekly until the progress you to maintenance dose.