Are Your Seasonal Allergies Driving You Crazy?
What is the Best Medication to Treat Your Allergy Symptoms? By Koby Taylor, PharmD
Allergies! Almost everyone has an allergy to something, and almost everyone is allergic to SPRING! Springtime blooms bring glorious beauty to our desert, but that beauty often brings with it miserable allergy symptoms. The telltale signs of environmental allergies usually include watery eyes, a stuffy nose, sensitive sinuses, a dull headache, itchy skin, and even an upset stomach. In this article, I would like to highlight a few of the differences between the many types of over-the-counter medications in order to help clarify the best choice for your allergy symptoms. The choices are plenty, and they are plenty confusing.
Antihistamines
Let’s break this down in hopes of helping you, the consumer. We have all heard of antihistamine medications, and it can be easy to assume that if the box says “helps with seasonal allergies” that we are getting an antihistamine medication. You aren’t. If you are looking for an actual antihistamine medicine, then look 66 www.sghealthandwellnessmagazine.com
for the ones that include cetirizine or loratadine as active ingredients. These ingredients target the H1 histamine receptors in your body, thereby relieving symptoms such as a runny nose, watery eyes, and so on. The most common antihistamine medications that you’ll see are Clariton or Zyrtec, and what’s nice about these is that they can be taken once a day for allergy relief, are non-drowsy, and can generally be taken for longer periods of time than other medications. These medications also come in a generic or store brand version. Benadryl, another very well known antihistamine drug, includes the active ingredient diphenhydramine. It is truly only meant for the sudden onset of allergy symptoms and is not meant for long-term care, like the aforementioned medications. That said, if you enjoy the great outdoors here in southern Utah, diphenhydramine is a good thing to have in your pack if you should happen into red ants or any one of our varieties of spiky plants. People with food allergies will often carry diphenhydramine as a backup or alongside an EpiPen. This medication also comes in a generic or store brand version.
