The Best Treatment for Allergic Rhinitis Doesn't Come from Your Drugstore
When most of get allergic rhinitis, the nasal inflammation that comes with hay fever, our first instinct is to take a pill. And there are many, many choices, both over the counter and with a doctor's prescription. The best treatment for allergenic rhinitis, however, probably is not pill at all.
These medications lock themselves into the cholesterol in the lining of nerve cells. They make the nerve cells fire more slowly. In the nose, this means that cells containing histamine (the chemical that causes allergies, the chemical you take an antihistamine to combat) won't release their contents as quickly.
Your allergies slow down, but you slow down, too. That's the problem with diphenhydramine (marketed as Benadryl), brompheniramine (marketed as Dimetane, Dimetapp Allergy, Nasahist B, ND-Stat, Oraminic II), clemastine (marketed as Antihist-1, Tavist, Tavist Allergy), and chlorpheniramine (marketed as Aller-Chlor, Chlor-Trimeton Allergy, Teldrin).
You don’t pay a lot for the medication, but they can make you feel sleepy all the time. A few brands combine the allergy medication with caffeine, so you can feel both sleepy and jumpy all the time.
These are drugs you usually have to get with a doctor's prescription, like certirizine (Zyrtec), fexofenadine (Allegra), and loratadine (Claritin).
It's not for no reason at all that the FDA or Health Canada or the ministries of health in various countries where these medications are sold requires that a doctor write a prescription.
By themselves, the medications might just cause minor problems like stomach upset. With certain other mediations, however, they can cause dangerously irregular rhythms in the heart or liver damage.
If you use nasal sprays all the time, unfortunately, the lining of your nose can begin to decay. You won't be able to smell it, but everybody around you will. Or if you stop nasal spray abruptly, your starving nose cells can engorge themselves with nutrients. You get stuffy nose that just won't quit—until the cells deprived of oxygen and nutrients begin to recover.
The better way to treat allergic rhinitis is to stop it at its source. If you take pollen, dander, and dust out of the air you breathe, you won't have an allergy in the first place. By far the most reliable and least expensive way to do this is with a home air filtration unit in every room in your home and office.
The Problems with Over The Counter Allergy Pills.
In the United States, there are nearly 150 FDA-approved brands of over the counter allergy medications. Most of these medications work on the same principle as the best selling over the counter antihistamine, Benadryl.These medications lock themselves into the cholesterol in the lining of nerve cells. They make the nerve cells fire more slowly. In the nose, this means that cells containing histamine (the chemical that causes allergies, the chemical you take an antihistamine to combat) won't release their contents as quickly.
Your allergies slow down, but you slow down, too. That's the problem with diphenhydramine (marketed as Benadryl), brompheniramine (marketed as Dimetane, Dimetapp Allergy, Nasahist B, ND-Stat, Oraminic II), clemastine (marketed as Antihist-1, Tavist, Tavist Allergy), and chlorpheniramine (marketed as Aller-Chlor, Chlor-Trimeton Allergy, Teldrin).
You don’t pay a lot for the medication, but they can make you feel sleepy all the time. A few brands combine the allergy medication with caffeine, so you can feel both sleepy and jumpy all the time.
The Problems with Second Generation Allergy Medications.
Not all medications for allergies make you sleepy, of course. There are a few medications that have been formulated so that they slow down the activity of nerve cells in your nose and the rest of your body except your brain.These are drugs you usually have to get with a doctor's prescription, like certirizine (Zyrtec), fexofenadine (Allegra), and loratadine (Claritin).
It's not for no reason at all that the FDA or Health Canada or the ministries of health in various countries where these medications are sold requires that a doctor write a prescription.
By themselves, the medications might just cause minor problems like stomach upset. With certain other mediations, however, they can cause dangerously irregular rhythms in the heart or liver damage.
What about Nasal Sprays?
When you use a nasal spray, you are basically poisoning the lining of your nose. Most nasal sprays make it hard for blood to circulate in your nose. The cells that might release histamine and cause allergies don't get the oxygen and nutrients they need, so you don't sneeze as much.If you use nasal sprays all the time, unfortunately, the lining of your nose can begin to decay. You won't be able to smell it, but everybody around you will. Or if you stop nasal spray abruptly, your starving nose cells can engorge themselves with nutrients. You get stuffy nose that just won't quit—until the cells deprived of oxygen and nutrients begin to recover.
There Has to Be a Better Way.
You're probably saying about now, "There has to be a better way." And there is.The better way to treat allergic rhinitis is to stop it at its source. If you take pollen, dander, and dust out of the air you breathe, you won't have an allergy in the first place. By far the most reliable and least expensive way to do this is with a home air filtration unit in every room in your home and office.
Allergic Rhinitis Articles
- What Is Allergic Rhinitis?
- Is Allergy The Same as Allergic Rhinitis?
- Allergic Rhinitis Symptoms
- Is It Allergic Rhinitis or Vasomotor Rhinitis
- Allergic Rhinitis Symptoms: They Are Not Necessarily What You Think
- Rhinitis Symptoms: Is It Allergic Rhinitis or Viral Rhinitis?
- How Allergic Rhinitis Becomes Viral Rhinitis and What You Can Do to Stop It
- How Allergic Rhinitis Can Become Atrophic Rhinitis, and What You Can Do to Stop It
- Allergic Rhinitis and Gustatory Rhinitis: What's the Difference?
- The Best Treatment for Allergic Rhinitis Doesn't Come from Your Drugstore
