Got Seasonal Allergies?!?!?!

[amrakx]

Just wondering if anyone else is suffering from the seemingly early spring allergies this year? I’m sensitive to tree pollen and today is especially bad. I live on Alki and my eyes are stingingly itchy today and I have flu like symptoms. Anyhoo, misery loves company, so if you’re affected, share, lol. Hope this allergy season passes quickly!

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[andrea]

I too have had the worst allergies both this last fall and now spring amrakx! I so sympathize with you. My eyes and nose are suffering mightily. Maybe its the earlier onset of the seasons due to global warming or something…?

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[Jo]

Whoa, I’m just miserable. Taking my allergy medicine, too.

I also live on Alki (lots of Cedar trees here).

My eyes are stinging, throat is dry, nose running, and also feel flu-like. I felt like this yesterday, too, but today is worse.

I almost always get sick (bronchitis) due to allergies late March, early May, so it is a little early.

And, I’ve been praying for spring!

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[MrJT]

I just got a big ol’ bottle of Allegra-D and have had the best week since January !

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[JanS]

Dr. Oz says (all heads turn)….hehe….get yourself a Neti pot, and rinse your sinuses out with a warm saline solution…on a regular basis. I am lucky to not be an allergy sufferer. Daughter is, though, and I have suggested this to her….

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[JoB]

JanS.. i am cleaning out my sinuses and i still feel like… well.. you know…

my eyes are puffy and yucky every morning.

and i am not sleeping. 5 AM this morning before i fell asleep for a couple of hours…

it never occurred to me that something that lasts this long is likely allergies:(

i have been away from the NW too long.

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[Aim]

Allergies and Asthma + Flu here in South Delridge.

I’m flippin miserable.

Oh, if you want to sinus irrigate but don’t want to shell out for a neti pot (or are afraid you’ll drown yourself with it) Rite Aid and the like all carry a sinus rinse kit with a squirt bottle. I use it in the shower in the mornings and it does make a difference.

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[Jo]

Aim, I also use the sinus rinse kit – NeilMeds. You can buy it at most pharmacies – Bartells for sure. It does help.

I also have slight asthma that has been worse the last 4-5 days. Somehow it always makes me feel better when I hear that someone else is as miserable as I am.

Thanks all.

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[AlkiKmac]

This is my 4th spring here and 1st suffering with allergies. Dr. did testing – severely allergic to dust and white (european) birch, which is everywhere in Alki. When I’m downtown or outside of WS, I feel much better….so that may be your cuprit, too. My worst reaction is very scratchy eyes.

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[amrakx]

Itchy scratchy eyes are a daily irritant lately and waking up in the morning with caked eyes. I even sleep with an air purifier in my room and no open windows throughout and still feel lousy. I’m glad I’m not the only one I guess. Btw I’m on nasonex and benadryl and sudafed, I feel like the commercial where the guy’s head is the balloon at the end of a string, major disconnect…

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[swimcat]

Thanks for the advice on the Neti pot substitute. I wanted to get one of those but didn’t know where so i’ll pop into Rite-Aid tonight to pick up the sinus rinse-kit instead. Hopefully it will help; I’ve been feeling like doo-doo lately as well.

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[andrea]

my best friend got me a neti pot for Christmas (um, yea?) becasue she saw Dr. Oz talk about its healing qualities on Oprah, and she knew how bad my allergies have been this year…well, I tried it, after much trepidation on my part (the picture on the box depicting how you are to use it is horrible), and I will say in that it has made a dramatic difference in my breathing and my sinus problems…you just have to get past the ackwardness of using it!

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[mag]

Sinus rinsing is recommended by many allergists and ear/nose/throat specialists. The squeeze bottle system by Neil Med (also available at Bartell’s) works great!

For eyes: Do not rub! It will make it worse. Best eye drop available over the counter is Zaditor. Used to be prescription, but over the counter now for 1-2 years. Lasts 12 hours, best I’ve tried and I’ve tried them all. Also, wet a cloth with cold water, wrap it around an ice cube, and put that on your eye. Cold will take the itch out better than anything else.

New this year: oral antihistamine Zyrtec (cetirizine)available over the counter now. Claritin (loratadine) has not been working as well for me as it used to, but the cetirizine has been great this year.

Good luck!

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[Kayleigh]

I tried the NeilMed system and all it did was make me gag.

I don’t understand why it would make any difference. If you can get by the gagging, you will have just rinsed the pollen out of your nose. The next time you breathe, you will breathe in more pollen (or whatever you are allergic to.)

Now the prescription nasal sprays, like Rhinocort–those work great.

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[JoB]

kayleigh..

i don’t know why the rinse systems work.. but they do… maybe something to do with the saline solution?

if i do it regularly (daily) i do breathe better.

it doesn’t end the problem.. it just makes it better. some days better is enough.

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[mag]

The nasal steroid sprays are very helpful with allergies, but must be used routinely – daily – to be of any benefit. I use Nasacort AQ (prescription) in addition to the NeilMed system. There are many options out there.

Sinus rinsing cleans out the offending allergens and mucus and calms down inflammation, which helps people feel better. Symptoms will eventually come back when you breathe in more allergens, this is true. Which is why you do the rinsing routinely, and try to avoid offending allergens when possible.

To avoid gagging with the NeilMed system, you must keep your head facing down into the sink to keep the fluid from going down the back of your throat. If done correctly, the fluid goes in one nostril and comes out the same way, or out the other nostril. Some fluid may go down the back of your throat, but not enough to cause gagging. If you are really congested, and the fluid cannot flow freely into your nose, it does not work very well. Never force the fluid into your nose.

I am a big believer in sinus rinsing, as is everyone in my family (and beyond!) now. Besides being useful with allergies, we have found that it helps prevent colds, and if we do get a cold, the duration is shorter and we’re less prone to getting sinus infections, too.

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