Avelient BioPharm Blog

Allergy Season: Finding Relief

As I sit here sniffling, I realize that one of the biggest health problems I have ever faced is the onset of my seasonal allergies. I’m not even sure exactly what I’m allergic to. I just know that around the same time every year, as the leaves start to appear and flowers begin to bloom, I start to sneeze the petals off.

I’ve tried any number of drugs to combat this problem, though I admit, I’ve avoided the prescription route because I don’t want to have to make yearly visits to my doctor to renew my prescription. Benadryl, for the longest time, was my drug of choice for its capability to act as an antihistamine. I can’t say that the drug made my symptoms go away, but it did alleviate them somewhat. Unfortunately, it also reduced me to the mental capacity of a donut due to the drowsiness that would overcome me, and my wife would not allow me to operate heavy machinery when I was “under the influence”. Therefore, I often suffered through the symptoms whenever I would need to function as a normal adult (don’t you feel sorry for me?).

Last year I started using Claritin, which miraculously did alleviate my symptoms and didn’t put me into the drowsy antihistamine haze as Benadryl did. I used it until about July, when my allergies taper off, and decided that was the drug of choice for the following year. I just started taking it recently and will let you all know how I’m faring in a future post (I know, you’re all holding on, white-knuckled in anticipation).

The MayoClinic estimates there are approximately 35 million Americans suffer from allergic reactions to pollen in the air, commonly known as hay fever, every year. If you’re a sufferer like me, you might want to check out their web site for advice on avoiding high exposure to the pollen that cause your histamine levels to rise. Click here for a full article. Some of the most poignant advice from the article:

• Close doors and windows when pollen counts are high.
• Don’t hang laundry outside — pollen can stick to sheets and towels.
• Use air conditioning in your house and car. Air conditioning cleans, cools and dries the air.
• Avoid outdoor activity in the early morning when pollen counts are highest.
• Stay indoors on dry, windy days. The best time to go outside is after a good rain, which helps clear pollen from the air.
• Use a dehumidifier to reduce indoor humidity.
• Use a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter in your bedroom and keep windows closed at night.
• Delegate lawn mowing, weed pulling and other gardening chores that stir up pollen and molds. If you do outside chores, wear a dust mask.

Pregnant women also may have a method for preventing allergies in their unborn children altogether. Apparently, by eating a moderate level of both apples and fish, it’s possible that you can prevent your children from suffering with allergies or asthma after they are born. According to an article on the Medical News Today web site, at least until the age of 5, “the mother’s diet during pregnancy can have more of an effect on the child’s respiratory health than the child’s own diet.” (click here for the full article) Believe me, if I could have told my mother about this, I would have.

So what about your experience? I also suffer from allergies to cats, but that’s an entirely different blog post. I’d like to hear about your own experiences — what worked? What didn’t? Did you try getting a prescription? An over-the-counter remedy? Or is there some other method you use for relief? I’d like to hear it all, so leave a comment!