[redwitch]

I'm used to mild cases of hay fever. So mild that I rarely even took any type of medication for it. BUT, I'm really suffering -- non-stop cough, drippy nose, runny eyes. I can handle the nose and eyes but the cough is driving me nuts and causing pain in the chest wall and back from coughing so much. I've tried a few things for the cough but nothing has worked. Any suggestions?

[LisaJ]

Hi Redwitch-
I'm sorry to hear you are feeling so poorly. Here are a ideas that may help you. Get sinus rinse and rinse your sinuses once in the morning and once an our before bedtime. Also, take Zyrtec. If you still have problems, then you may need a prescription for a nasal spray. Good luck and please let me know how you feel in a week.

[njbchbum]

local honey!!! available from the fruit stand on 466 travelling toward rolling acres rd.

1 teaspoon in a cuppa tea will help ease the throat...after throat feels better can take by the spoonful, spread on toast, spoon over cereal or pancakes or waffles. it takes a while to work its way thru your system to build an immunity - but once that immunity is there you will enjoy not having to take otc meds.

plain old ordinary zinc tabs [or half a tab] will work to dry runny eyes and nose - but it tends to have a dehydrating effect which i do not care for.

hope someone else will have a suggestion for otc meds for ya and hope ya feel better soon.

[bestmickey]

While visiting last year, my sister had the same problem. The pharmacist recommended Claritin. It helped dry up her sinus/post-nasal drip, which solved the coughing issue. Good luck!

[graciegirl]

It is VERY bad right now and I am reacting too and I thought I left allergies in my youth. Helene is REALLY suffering and coughing too.

My neighbor has pneumonia triggered by allergy.

Sometimes just cough suppressants in regular over the counter cough syrup can help.

Showering often to remove the pollen from your skin and hair helps too.

I am so sorry Red, that you aren't feeling well. I know you will keep your work commitments even if you are ill, because I know the type of person you are.

Hugs.

[Mikeod]

I have had bad spring allergy symptoms the last three years here. I have had success with OTC loratadine (generic for claritin) one 10mg pill a day. I also have a HEPA filter that I run at night in the bedroom with the doors to the bathroom and hallway closed. For a while, I would waken several times a night sneezing. Now, I sleep all night. Hope this helps.

[JohnN]

hi red, I have allergy issues too, sorry to hear it.

I put a few drops of apple cider vinegar in the nose rinse mentioned above and I think it does a better job, and I use it whenever I'm outside for any length of time.

A shower too, after extended outside time, and get the pollen off.
Keep doors and windows closed.

I have breathe right strips for at night.
All of the above is non medicinal.

Zyrtec works pretty good too, when I need a bit more of a kick.

[JenAjd]

I had allergies "up north" that had stablized...then the move here! I was told that this is "allergy alley" and alot of people are affected. I was put on singular by my provider and it seems to help. I also was told by some people about the "local" honey! Was also told to take a tsp and NOT put it on your cereal or in tea but just take straight from a spoon. It might be an "old wives" tale or a placebo effect thing but wouldn't hurt to try. There is also a virus going around that is respitory and nasty...have you been checked for that??? It's a head-full, bad cough and achey, no energy/very tired kind of thing. Takes a couple of weeks or more to get over it!!!

[Ohiogirl]

I have lived about 7 places (scattered around the country) which all claimed they were "allergy alley." I think maybe once you've finally desensitized to wherever you live before, a move to a new location might trigger new stuff.

Sorry you all are suffering. My youngest grandson reacted horribly last year to the pine pollen in Raleigh - daughter didn't mention it this year (might still be too early there). Lack of rain has also not helped (to wash it out of the trees, etc), so maybe this rain tonight and tomorrow will help. Hope so. Not fun to feel lousy in Paradise.

[Hawkwind]

Many years ago I always though I was getting a spring cold about mid May and lived with it and in three or four weeks it would be gone. Then one Memorial Day weekend I went to Bowling Green KY for a big drag race and I about died. I was okay when in the hotel room but as soon as I walked out the door my noise was like a fire hydrant and I could use up a bed sheet for a hankie. When I got back home I went to an allergy doctor and in seconds he said I had an allergy to grass pollen. He gave me a 10cc Kenalog shot and in three days it was like I never had a problem. The shot was to last through the grass growing season.

The next year when the symptoms started I was back at the doctor for another shot and I was good for another year. This lasted for a number of years and then it got to the point that I no longer had a problem in the spring and I no longer get the shot. Sure I may sneeze when cutting the grass in the seeding season but nothing to even go out and by over the counter meds for.

The 10cc Kenalog did the trick for me.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by Hawkwind

......I was okay when in the hotel room but as soon as I walked out the door my nose was like a fire hydrant and I could use up a bed sheet for a hankie......

Thanks for the visual, bro - - - You Ohio people are all the same....

What allergies I seem to have are getting worse as the years go on while Sandy's are a lot better now than they were when she was younger. All part of life, I reckon!

Bill

[mac9]

Dee, Try using a netty pot 2-3 times a day. It has really helped me. They sell them at Walgreen's.

[herbaru]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl

I have lived about 7 places (scattered around the country) which all claimed they were "allergy alley." I think maybe once you've finally desensitized to wherever you live before, a move to a new location might trigger new stuff.

Sorry you all are suffering. My youngest grandson reacted horribly last year to the pine pollen in Raleigh - daughter didn't mention it this year (might still be too early there). Lack of rain has also not helped (to wash it out of the trees, etc), so maybe this rain tonight and tomorrow will help. Hope so. Not fun to feel lousy in Paradise.

Ohiogirl, Just to let you know, NO pine pollen in Raleigh YET! I live in Raleigh. I hope your grandson has an easier time this year.

[redwitch]

Well, it seems I have a choice -- cough my back out or get a reaction to Claritin. Took the recommendations and got some Claritin. After an hour, the coughing stopped. YEAH!!!! In another hour, I was in bed with mild chills and every joint hurting. Hmmm -- flu maybe, not allergy? Never heard of a flu or cold starting with a cough, but what do I know? Okay, fix some soup, put on warm jammies, try to sleep. Another two hours or so and the coughing starts again. Take another pill. Twenty minutes later back to the chills and body aches. Oh, crud! I'm sensitive to the meds (nothing new there -- I'm allergic to most medications).

So, no to the honey (bee allergy), no to Claritin or Actifed or Benedryl for that matter and most defnitely NO to going to a doc for a shot. Guess I'll have to suffer through it. Thanks for the advice, everyone. (Sorry, but no way I am using a neti pot -- looked it up and it just looked gross.)

[Freeda]

Our immune system being strong is the only thing that keeps us well and gets us well from colds/viruses/flu and from allergy-type symptoms (which are in actuality just the first sign of an immune system that is not keeping up to the demand that is being placed on it/the body). Think of it as if you had tires that were in great/new condition; going over a bumpy brick street would cause a bumpy-feeling ride, but would not cause them to go flat. Thinner, worn tires that are doing ok on a regular road might go flat on a bumpy brick road because they can't hold up under that added stress. Unlike a thinned tire, which just has to be replaced, our immune system can be built back up by proper nutrition, rest, and exercise; it would be as if an old tire can be 'renewed' to become more new-like. The individual sensitivities people have, such as to spring pollens or other allergens, are like the bumpy road - they are more than our immune system is strong enough at that given time to hold up under.

Taking symptom-relieving meds for these problems is like using fix-a-flat on a deflated or deflating tire; it provides a temporary relief from the problem, ie now we can drive the car again for a while, but it is not addressing the underlying cause/problem - ie, the damaged tire. Also, because meds contain some unnatural (to the body) ingredients, they add further load for the body to cope with; and when we are sick we need to avoid all possible added stressers (including, by the way, emotional stressers) so that the immune system can focus on healing us. Another problem with symptom-relieving meds of all types (cold remedies, pain pills, allergy pills, etc) is that because they make people feel better, it is easy to become complacent to the unaddressed underlying cause/problem, ie, we just keep driving on the 'fix-a-flat-ed' tire, and the next time we are out on the interstate in the middle of no where, boom, it goes out on us again (ie, we get sick again because we didn't take steps to strengthen our immune system).

So if I had allergies or a cold, etc (or wanted to increase my resistance to them for the future) I would sleep as much as possible, not exercise at all if I were sick/having allergy symptoms until I felt well (so that the immune system can maximize its focus on healing me) eat well (ie the veggies, fruits, good proteins etc etc), avoid stress as much as possible, and take high quality multi-vitamins, antioxidants, grape seed extract, extra vitamin C and extra vitamin D (unless I was in a place like TV and had bright sunshine that day, in which case I'd get out in that without sunscreen for around 20-30 minutes at the midday, especially if I felt sick, to get a great dose of vitamin D and then I could skip the vitamin D supplement - and, no, as long as I wasn't burning I wouldn't be risking skin cancer in doing this - in fact, the vitamin D is protective against many forms of cancer). (Even the AMA, in its journal JAMA, agrees that all of us need supplements, no matter how well we eat; there is not enough nutrition in the food supply any longer). I'd make sure that the brand all of the supplements were both (1) pharmaceutical grade (this would be stated on the label if they are - otherwise I'd be buying a 'white elephant', as the labelling of supplements is not regulated and, therefore, the label's claim as to the levels of nutrients in a product is unreliable and is usually very overstated) and (2) highly bioavailable/absorbable, by checking such independent sources as consumerlabs.com or the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. Researching on your own, such as pubmed.org you will find that the RDA levels of such nutrients as vitamin C and vitamin D are no longer seen as sufficient to give us optimal health.

Our bodies were wondrously designed to be resistant to and coexist with viruses/germs/bacteria and to stay well; and to be 'healing machines' if we do get sick, as long they are as properly 'stoked' to do the job. Learning that I could do things to help control this was a life-changing epiphany, like a miracle, to me; I was a person who dealt with both allergies and asthma, and several bouts per year of colds/strep throat flu etc, with entire shelves of prescription and over-the-counter meds and inhalers, plus seasonal allergy shots, for my entire life before that.