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 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.

Decongestants

Allergies can cause you to become congested, especially as the histamine response worsens. Your chest may become tight, and your sinuses feel blocked. Decongestants can help to shrink swollen blood vessels and tissues and may help relieve congestion. Medications with decongestants include ingredients such as oxymetazoline, found in nasal sprays like Afrin, phenylephrine, found in Sudafed PE, and pseudoephedrine, also found in Sudafed. These medications are meant to be taken intermittently and as a temporary measure to relieve symptoms of congestion. These medications can be found in oral or nasal delivery forms.

Steroids

Now let’s take a look at medications that offer relief by delivering corticosteroids. Corticosteroids are a type of anti-inflammatory, meaning they reduce inflammation. They do not block histamine responses nor do they act as decongestants. These medications can help to relieve the pain and swelling associated with allergy symptoms. Medications such as Flonase, Nasacort, and Rhinocort are corticosteroid-ingredient-based products. It is important to stress here that these medications only offer temporary relief and are not meant to be used as long-term medications. They can also come in the form of topical creams for skin allergies.

Natural Products and Remedies

As you can imagine, at my pharmacy, we see many allergy sufferers. We help guide them through the maze of brands and ingredients and hopefully send them home with products that will work best for them. Over the years, we have gotten more positive feedback from patients on the following two recommendations:

• Nasal Rinse

We cannot say enough about using a nasal rinse. Just as you would flush your body of toxins by drinking a lot of water, a nasal rinse does the same thing for your nose and sinuses. Every time you breathe in through your nose, you take in millions of tiny particles from the air, and during allergy season, you are breathing in particles that cause allergies. Not only is it a good idea to rinse out these particles, especially during the spring season, but if you can make nasal rinsing a part of your daily routine year round, you will build stronger sinuses that can better handle allergy season.

• D-Hist, a Patient Favorite

But wait. There’s more! What about natural products? Isn’t there anything out there for those of you who want something different? Yes, there is! If you’ve walked into any health food store, you’ve seen the aisles stocked with natural alternatives. Honestly, these can be just as confusing as the medications I mentioned above. But in the interest of keeping this article succinct, I want to highlight just one for your consideration. D-Hist is a natural allergy supplement—not a medication but a supplement. It doesn’t have drug medications like the aforementioned products, but it contains ingredients that are found in dietary and nutritional realms. D-Hist contains Vitamin C, Quercetin, Stinging Nettle, Bromelain, and N-Acetyl-Cysteine. Essentially, D-Hist supplies you with vitamins, herbs, and an amino acid that work together to boost your immune system, decrease inflammation, and provide antihistamine-like properties from natural, plant-based sources. Patients have noticed a remarkable difference when they switched to this natural remedy. Some reported they didn’t feel dried out and jittery like other medications made them feel. Some even reported that they felt their allergies didn’t linger as long as usual, and so far, no one has reported feeling tired or drowsy. You can find D-Hist at Fusion Pharmacy, some locallyowned pharmacies, your local health food store, or online.

When choosing an allergy medication or remedy, get help from your pharmacist to understand your symptoms, and choose the right option that best fits your needs. Always be cautious about taking OTC medications for long periods of time. If your allergies don’t subside or continue to worsen, please consult your doctor.

About the Author

Koby Taylor, PharmD, is the owner and pharmacist of Fusion Pharmacy. Working as a retail pharmacist early in his career, Koby began to see that pharmacy patients needed to have access to available alternative medications. He realized that pharmacy in its truest form is compounding, and he wanted to be able to provide patients with customized medications. He also desired more personalized interactions with patients in order to truly help their health and wellbeing. To fulfill his passion for improving the health of patients and educating them about compounding, Koby opened the doors of Fusion Pharmacy in 2013. Today, Fusion is nationally accredited with PCAB and NABP. It is licensed in and ships to 27 states. Fusion is proud to have two locations to better serve the southern Utah community. Koby graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in molecular biology in 1995 and from the University of Utah with his Doctorate of Pharmacy in 2000.

Koby Taylor

#FusionIsBetterMedicine FUSION PHARMACY Santa Clara (435) 703-9680 | St. George (435) 656-2059 | www.FusionSpecialtyPharmacy.com