I Have Really Bad Allergies … What Is The Best Solution You Know To Deal With Them?
February 26, 2010 by admin
Filed under Allergy Questions
I mean, really, really, really bad allergies. My nose is constantly running. My ears are itchy and plugged up, my eyes are itchy and watery and my throat itches. I have been taking Allegra but it doesn’t seem to be working that well. Anyone know something better?
Hi Socmum,
First of all allergies are a common problem,and the numbers of people with allergies are increasing due to the increase of anti-biotic use.First you need to get on a good probiotic to help your gut produce good bacteria,these fight off the bad bacteria and increase your immune system.Then you need to get tested for food allergies.Next you need to get either allergy shots,or homeopahic allergy drops,clean your home and make your bedroom really simple,get a dust mite cover for your matress and an air purifier wash your sheets once a week using fragrance free detergent.vacuum daily,and use blinds rather then curtains.Replace personal care products with unfragranced brands.On bad days try to spend time in an air-conditioned or air filtered room,dust masks also provide relief.
I have an expensive answer, but it’s effective without medication. In your case, you might consider using it in conjunction with medicine. We use an infrared sauna which we purchased and placed in our home. I do not have sinus allergies, but my husband and child suffer from chronic sinus allergies. My husband said by using the sauna everyday, he no longer suffers from sinus problems. My daughter is a worse case than my husband so if she uses nasonex and the sauna, it seems to help her a lot. See if there is a place you can use one for awhile (public pool?) and see if you notice a difference.
My mom has allergies pretty bad. She got an allergy test and did the whole allergy shot thing for several years and a lot of them finally went away, although she still has some. However, she got new ones. Ones that weren’t as intense before the shots now can be pretty bad. She doesn’t want to do the shots anymore, so here are some things she does.
1. She has a humidifier/vaporizor that she uses every night, and whenever she has a really bad “spell”.
2. When she has particularly bad days she will boil a pan of water, get a good thick towel and put the towel over her head while breathing in the steam from the pan of water. The towel forms sort of a tent over her head and the water. When the steam is gone or she can’t stand it anymore, she will sometimes reheat the water and repeat. But often she just sort of sits there for a minute blowing her nose. She says the steam keeps everything moist so she doesn’t get a sinus infection, while also helping to loosen everything. She is careful to not intentionally put herself in the path of known allergens for the next hour or two.
3. She bought an air purifier (they cost about $300 when she bought hers but they may have gone down now) and put it in a high traffic area, like the kitchen/dining area. But she soon learned she spent more time cleaning the thing than anything else, so she put it in the bedroom and ran it night and day keeping the door closed all the time so she could have a “clean room”.
4. She also ran the air conditioner all the time, even in the winter when she was in the car so it would filter the air.
5. She recently bought this rock looking thing that has a light under it. It is made of some “natural” substance that when warm acts like the air purifier she bought, only you don’t have to clean it. There are two sizes, small and large. The small is good for the average sized room (average kitchen and dining room) the large is geared more toward these HUGE homes with equally HUGE kitchens and multiple living rooms or family rooms or whatever they’re called now. I can ask her the name of it if you want. She said she got it at the mall.
6. She now lives in a very windy part of TX, so she tries to always have a scarf or something with her to cover her nose and mouth when it is particularly windy (which is often).
7. She takes herbs and vitamins to help ward off colds, and other things that allergy sensitive people easily get.
8. She is rarely out at night or on the rare occasion it rains here because that is when the pollen and allergens usually fall from the air in large quantities.
9. She also uses a mask when she has to go outside. It looks kind of goofy at first, but the results far out way that goofy feeling.
I have a third cousin who is also particularly sensitive to environmental and outdoor allergies. She takes multiple baths/showers per day in an effort to wash away any allergens that catch in her hair or on her clothes. She also washes her face, hands, and arms a lot when she can’t take a shower. – Let me just say she is single, older, and retired so she has more time to do these things than say a young mother would. But if you have a minute to stick your head in the shower to rinse the toxins out of your hair, it would probably help.
The symptoms you mentioned are the bodies reaction to the thing that you’re allergic to, if you can lessen or remove the allergen then you can find a lot of relief. Treating the symptoms does little more than build up your bodies immunity to that medication making it work less effectively over time, than more effectively.
Living in KS as you do, you probably have a lot of wind too, so you might try some of the outdoor suggestions first. That is if you don’t want to take allergy shots. They do work, and work most effectively if you do what you can to lessen your exposure to the allergens they treat.
UPDATE: Mom is allergic to practically everything too. The dr told her people who are allergic to practically everything usually aren’t allergic to mold. Go figure.
I think one of the herbs she uses is that stinging nettle that was mentioned earlier.
I used to use Allegra D, now I like Tylenol Allergy (I am allergic to aspirin so I can’t take most other pain reliever/allergy medicines)…I live in Utah around farm land – wheat, barley, safflower, alfalfa, all the good ones…
Good luck!
Of course you should find out exactly what you’re allergic to and try to avoid it. Also, clean your house of any allergens or things that could cause allergies (i.e carpets can bring a lot of dust) and if you are allergic to something seasonal or airborne, you should consider wearing a mask when outside ot exposed to the allergen for a long time.
I would look into allergy shots. They will lessen your reaction or complete get rid of your allergy. You might want to try another medicine if Allegra isn’t working. You should also add in a nasal spray. I use allegra and nasonex, plus an herb called stinging nettle for when I have a bad reaction (aka all spring). Invest in a high quality, air purifier to keep in your bedroom or any other room you spend a lot of time in.
you need to have allergy testing done. you can either have the skin test or you can have blood drawn. if you are not afraid of needles or pain then i would suggest a skin test. you will know immediatly what you are allergic to, but there are about 30-40 sticks involved. if you do not want to be stuck that many times, then ask you doctor about having blood work done. i work for Labcorp and we do blood allergy tests. once the results are back then your doctor can prescribe something for you. in the mean time, you can try benedryl it works pretty good but it will make you drowsy.
trackI feel for you…You are on the right and seem to know alot about it…..It seems like you have seen the allergist and have been tested….Anytime that you take a medicine you run the chance of it becoming less effective with continued use….
Since your ears seem stopped up and itchy..it sounds like you need a decongestant as well as an antihistamine….there are many over the counter drugs you can try…My suggestion would be to try Actifed ( an old drug but very good) also Benadryl D…meaning it has a decongestant in it…The only problem is that these medicines may cause drowsiness so keep that in mind….Hope you feel better soon…
allergy testing.
just eat healthly who knows if you stick to the fruit and vege it might help