Like anyone suffering from allergies, I have tried most of the mainstream treatments out there. The decongestants, the nasal sprays, I’ve even used some steroid nasal sprays for short periods of time, with a prescription, of course. However, the problem that always arises is side effects. Often times side effects can range from sore throat to nausea or swelling of the face and neck.

Here’s a breakdown of what I’ve learned about the different “mainstream” treatments. By “mainstream”, I mean the treatments that are most commonly used and recommended by the medical community. I’m not a doctor, and you should definitely consult your own doctor before starting any of these treatments, but these are the broad strokes, so to speak.  

Antihistamines:
These medications work by blocking your body’s absorption of histamine, the substance that the mast cells in your body create when you are exposed to an allergen. When histamine receptors take in histamine, they become inflamed causing the redness and itching associated with allergies. These medicines block the histamine receptors in your blood vessels. These are the most commonly recommended allergy medicines and anyone who has suffered from allergies as long as I have, knows them all.

Over-the-counter brands of antihistamines include: Benadryl, Claritin, Chlor-Trimeton, Dimetane, Zyrtec, and Tavist.

The most common side effect from antihistamines is drowsiness. Non-drowsy antihistamines are available with a prescription.

Decongestants:
During an allergic reaction, tissues in your nose swell in response to contact with the allergen. That swelling produces fluid and mucous. Blood vessels in the eyes also swell, causing redness. Decongestants shrink swollen nasal tissues and blood vessels to relieve the symptoms of nasal swelling, congestion, mucous secretion and redness. They come in nasal spray, eye drop, liquid or pill form

Nasal spray and eye drop decongestants can be used for only a few days, since long-term use can actually make symptoms worse. Pills and liquid decongestants may be taken longer safely.

Over-the-counter decongestants: Zyrtec-D, Sudafed tablets or liquid, Neo-Synephrine and Afrin nasal sprays, and Visine eye drops.

Prescription decongestants include drugs like Claritin-D and Allegra-D that combine a decongestant with another allergy medicine.

Beyond these treatments there are some other types of medication that have been created in recent years. Mast Cell Inhibitors, Leukotriene Inhibitors, and Oral, Nasal or Inhaled Steriods all are used as the situation dictates. One of the newest treatments is allergy shots, a progressive system of immunizations against allergens. You are injected with small doses of whichever allergens cause reactions so that your body and immune system can acclimate and learn to respond properly. Immunotherapy, as this process is referred to, has been proven to be highly effective in dealing with airborne allergens as well as skin and insect bite allergies. It has not shown to be effective with food allergies.

Alternative Treatments
After a few years of going through many of the available treatments for my allergies, I got frustrated, like many of you out there, at the lack of effectiveness. I started doing some research on alternative treatments for my symptoms. Let me tell you, there are more theories out there than you can believe. It was tough for me to sort fact from snake oil at first. But slowly I began to realize which was which, and I’m here to tell you, most of what’s out there is snake oil.

Most of the alternative treatments out there are less treatment, more adjustment. The majority of the remedies recommended as alternatives for decongestants or antihistamines were lifestyle adjustments. Granted, a lot of them probably will improve the environment around you and help to create fewer allergens around your home or workplace. But to me, those are not treatments, they are simple improvements or steps to be taken, not medicine.

Many studies have been commissioned and many books have been written about the use of herbal and other homeopathic remedies, but the vast majority of them are inconclusive or not properly formatted to be accepted by the medical community at large. I personally found very little that is effective here, but if you feel that an alternative treatment might do you some good, the research is very easy to start, and as I mentioned, there is plenty out there to sift through.

Winter Allergies
Since it is winter time as I’m writing this, I feel I should put up the info I found on Winter Allergies. Turns out a lot of people tend to write off colds and cold like symptoms that last long periods of time as due to the weather or climate. But research has shown that sometimes these symptoms can actually be undiagnosed allergic reactions.

The typical cold caused by germs will generally last a maximum of 10 days. Anything that lasts over that, or frequent strep throat in the winter, or sinus infections could be a reaction to the same allergens that affect you in spring and/or summer. In winter time, doors and windows are shut for extended periods, dust from heating vents can be blown into rooms, and by spending more time indoors, you expose yourself to higher levels of pet dander or mold or another substance that may be causing the reaction.

A good way to tell the difference between allergy symptoms and colds is to check a couple of signals. If you blow your nose and the mucous is clear and watery and you get those old familiar itchy, watery eyes, that is most likely winter allergies. If the mucous is discolored, you experience chills and aches and the symptoms only last a week or so, that is most likely a cold.

Bear these things in mind as you make your way through winter allergy season. Sometimes the correct diagnosis can make all the difference. Best of luck to all you allergy sufferers out there and Happy Holidays!