successful allergy strategies...

[lucydad]

All,
Last May I took a ride to Galveston and looped around.  The next day allergies kicked me so hard my entire face swelled up, and my hearing was blocked.  I could not hear normally for nearly a month, and it was extremely frustrating.  I tried everything-- nothing worked, and after maybe 6-8 weeks I slowly returned to normal.

This year after every bicycle or motorcycle ride, here is my drill:
--wash mouth out thoroughly with scope
--wash face and rinse and special attention to ears, eyelids, and inside nose
--blow nose several times, and also during the ride
-- use Nasonex or Flonase before and after the ride--the nasal sprays help a lot
-- use Mucinex every morning, not the D, the basic stuff-- keeps sinuses drained,  drink plenty of water
-- use the full ear soft ear plugs while riding the motorcycle...

So far, knock on my wooden head:  no allergy issues.  And what a relief.  Maybe 2015 has not been as bad as 2014?  But I think the above actions have helped.

Yeah there it is. 

stay healthy!

[atavar]

Eat lots of local honey.  It actually helps desensitize your allergies.

[wrbix]

Eat lots of local honey.  It actually helps desensitize your allergies.

OWT

[Perazzimx14]

Quit fooling around with home remedies (save for honey) and go to an allergist and get tested. Then get set up for shot therapy. I am on year 4 of a 5 year plan and my allergic reactions have been reduced by about 90%. In years past I'd have to go on steroids, asthma medication, nasal spray, prescription strength zertec/claratin etc. This year and occasional Benadryl or otc zertec is all I have needed.

This morning I could have used an ice scraper to get the pollen off my windshield. We are in prime allergy season.

[atavar]

OWT

If you have problems with honey you can get the same benefits from bee pollen, available at your local health food store, though finding local bee pollen can be more troublesome.

[pehayes]

Pollen grains are really rough-surfaced and they tend to stick to hair very easily.  As you sleep, they fall off your hair and get sucked into your nose.  Thus, shower BEFORE you go to bed.

The Nasonex and Flonase are steroid sprays.  They are NOT intended for incidental allergic attacks.  The ARE intended for seasonal modification to your mucous membranes.  Take those every day starting in March and ending in June.  Take them if you need them or not.  They don't care what's happening in today's air supply.  

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[wrbix]

When I first moved to SC, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stay secondary to severe seasonal allergies. Then I discovered NasalCrom - an nasal spray preparation of Cromolyn sodium..Cromolyn stablizes mast cells which are the storehouses of Histamine and other mediators of allergic reaction.
Requires some time to work. I start using it every April and continue through May and am very well compensated symptom-wise now
Strongly recommended especially if your sensitivities are seasonal in nature.

[wrbix]

NasalCrom, BTW, is not a steroid and therefore free of those side effects.

[wrbix]

If you have problems with honey you can get the same benefits from bee pollen, available at your local health food store, though finding local bee pollen can be more troublesome.

...also OWT.

[atavar]

And get the most expensive filters you can find for your furnace/AC..  and a good ionizing air purifier (not cheap) will help too.  These solutions can actually make you more sensitive when you go out in the real word though as you will not be exposed to the allergens in your home any more.  
I use hepa-filters and ionizers at home and in my car, but more for pet odors than allergens.  They make a HUGE difference.

[fotoguzzi]

Eat lots of local honey.  It actually helps desensitize your allergies.

OWT

I love this forum!

[jrt]

Flonase and other steroidal based drugs work best as prophylactics.  Steroids are long-term, slow signaling compounds, in this case to reduce inflammation.  Take a small amount (prescribed dosage) over an extended period to mitigate immunological response. 
So yeah, what Pat said.  Steroid nasal sprays are not fast-acting, they are long term commitments.

But allergy shots are better.  I took them for 15 years and I am soooo much less sensitive.

[wrbix]

I love this forum!

Me TOO!

[old as dirt 2]

doctors mask?

[wrbix]

doctors mask?

Particulate mask with NIOSH rating N95. Others not so much..

[atavar]

[Triple Jim]

I've had a huge improvement with itching, painful eyes by cupping my hand under the faucet and rinsing them out one at a time, whenever they start feeling like there's sand in them.

[AGRO!]

Believe it or not but cut out eating any wheat products.
 Don't eat any foods with rye,wheat,barley or oats and I guarantee no more problems.
Plus your health will improve so much you wont know whats happened try it for one month and see the difference.

[lucydad]

No clue what the hell OWT means.  Googled it and still makes no sense.

Yes we eat local honey.

Doctor prescribed RX for Nasonex, and it helps, and I use it year round with no side effects.

Eating whole wheat toast with peanut butter and honey right now for breakfast.  Cuppa coffee.

Off to Dr. Dentist for three crown restorations this morning, then rest of day off to recover.

I am jus thrilled to be able to chew normally and hear.

[wrbix]

No clue what the hell OWT means.  Googled it and still makes no sense.

Old Wive's Tale.
 :pop

[lucydad]

wr,

Thanks for an explanation.  I think the most effective action I am taking:  washing thoroughly, and the mucinex.

Happy to not be saying:  "sorry I can't hear you" and constantly trying to unplug clogged sinuses and ears.  Very degrading to relationships and work.

[Bill Hagan]

For more decades than I care to admit, I suffered severe seasonal sinus reactions.

Then, last year, I finally went to an allergist. 

After punching a bazillion little holes in my arm, he looked solemnly at me and said: "Do you know what you are allergic to?"

I said that was why I came to him, thus had no clue.

"Nothing," he said. "You are allergic to nothing."

OFGS.   :o

So, why the biannual sneezing-become-impacted-sinuses?  What can I do, I asked?

Being an affable if somewhat annoying sort of doc, his first response was "Stop breathing."  After he composed himself from that and saw that I wasn't laughing as much as he was, he said that the problem was, as others here have said, particulates.

I am about to do a two-day ride to Atlanta.  Not sure how much good it'll do, but even under a full-face helmet, I plan to wear a small surgical mask.

Haven't tried that before, tho I do wear when mowing our grass a multi-purpose respirator.

Good luck with the problem ... and the fix.

Bill

[charlie b]

There are a ton of things that you breathe that can cause sinus and/or breathing problems.

Allergies show up with me as itching in the ears and eyes.  Other irritants are only sinus related.  Examples of that are fine wood dust (balsa specially), using CA glues (super glue), using spray paints.  A good air system or cheap dust mask works for those.  I have a good mask when I go out and mow.

[Rich A]

Sublingual drops can be a big help--that's basically like eating honey, except that the antigens are highly concentrated. This type of treatment is more popular in Europe than the US, but it is becoming more common here. There is a good immunological basis for this--google "sublingual immunotherapy." The advantages of drops under the tongue over shots are that you can self administer and of course you don't get punctured.

Triple Jim: try using a little baby shampoo when washing your eye lids; that works even better.

Rich A

[Triple Jim]

Triple Jim: try using a little baby shampoo when washing your eye lids; that works even better.

I wouldn't have thought of that, but it makes sense, thanks.

[donn]

A band mate was up to 7 loratidine per day when she decided that wasn't working and went to her doc for some other remedy.  That turned out to be quercetin, a bioflavonoid?  flavonoid anyway?  flavonol?  Anyway, one of those things we get in fruits and vegetables that have miscellaneous nutritional benefits, though you'd have to eat a carload of apples to get the equivalent of one of these big quercetin pills.  I have mild hay fever symptoms in early "summer" (Pacific Northwest joke), so I tried it, and I liked it enough to stay with it, first time I recall ever signing up for a daily pill regimen.  It has been only a year or so, so limited evidence as to how effective it really is.  It isn't like an antihistamine - I sneeze occasionally, apparently still sensitive to those grass pollens - but that's all, no hay fever session with sneezing and itchy eyes for hours.  And it seems to me that I may feel slightly better overall with the quercetin, like it's actually good for me.  Following the advice I got, I take it with a big chewable vitamin C tablet with some of its own bioflavonoids.

The Quercetin wikipedia article used to be quite informative, mentioned a wide variety of interesting things it's suspected to be good for and some of the biochemistry (apparently it's a mild mono-amine oxidase inhibitor, though not to the extent anyone would worry about it.)  Some more conservative editors have taken over and expunged all that, but it really is somewhat widely used at least for pollen allergies.

On the honey thing - my paternal grandfather was allergic to honey, which he attributed to the pollen.  I suspect the logic was not sound, but there you go, it can be applied in either direction.

[segesta]

My allergies aren't severe, just the "hay fever" type, and I've had good luck with Quercetin supplements. It is supposedly an anti-inflammatory.

I'm not one that's into vitamins and herbs and whatnot, but my springtime sneezing is dramatically reduced.
FWIW!

Modified: funny that Donn and I posted about Quercetin within 20 seconds of each other.

[Orange Guzzi]

OWT

The honey salesperson will argue that point.

I have had it bad for 2 weeks.  Mine started when the farmer behind my house sprayed the field while planting seeds.  I got a couple of good breaths of the chemical.  The next day I starting getting it in the lungs and now in the sinuses. 

[keithl]

Old Wive's Tale.
 :pop

Correct.  You may get a placebo effect, but that's it.

[Mike Harper]

Suffered with all kinds of allergies for 70 yrs. 

Finally had nasal surgery a year ago and I have no more allergies.  Breath great and rarely ever even sneeze.  I now have much more energy, sleep better, and no sinus pressure.

Not fun but maybe the answer you are looking for.