Best over the counter allergy meds?

Since I have no health insurance, anything perscription is out, but my allergies are OUT OF CONTROL lately. I have it all.

Runny & stuffy nose
Red, itchy, watery eyes
Dry throat with cough

So I've tried a few OTC allergy meds, but nothing seems to work. All the do is put me to sleep. I've tried Claritin & Benadryl allergy. Both didn't help AT ALL.

Anyone have any other suggestions or recommendations? Thanks.

Claritin doesn't work for me either. And if Claritin doesn't work for you then Alavert probably won't either.

I'd recommend Tavist-D, Drixoral or Sudafed. All will make you drowsy, unfortunately, but they should work.

(But if you can find someone who can get you some Allegra, jump on that shit. It is pretty much the best stuff ever in the history of ever.)

Did you try Claritin-D instead of regular Claritin? The 24-hr version works wonders for me.

Yup. I got the 24 hour stuff.

And to make it worse, not only did it not work, but I couldn't take anything else for 24 hours either because the pharmacist said not to mix any of them.

It really unfortunately sounds like you need a prescription. Here's what you do. Find a friend with health insurance to go in and complain of allergies and say all your symptoms so she can get a prescription for Allegra or Zyrtec or something like that. If nothing else, the doctor will usually give anyone complaining of allergy symptoms that aren't helped by OTC meds a pile of free trial packages from the drug companies. You just offer to pay your friends copay.

Getcherself a perscription for Allegra-D. It is a miracle drug, I tells ya.

As for over-the-counter shit, nuffin' works for me, either. Over the course of my life, I believe I've tried them all, too. Nothing has ever come close to Allegra-D.

D'oh!

[Edited on Aug 26, 2005 by Destro]

...or do what Shalome said already.

None of that stuff really works consistently for me either. The only thing that gives me some small measure of relief regularly is Sudafed. The heavy duty version. There are a couple of different varieties, I believe; I use the sinus headache version because often my sinuses wish to punish me. Choose which one accurately covers your symptoms, of course.

i guess it varies from person to person. alavert doesn't do anything to me at all. benadryl helps for about an hour, then i fall asleep.

allegra would be your best bet.

Personally, I buy generic Claritin-D 24-hour. It works really well for me, although I only have a minor dust and dust mite allergy that gives me some nasal congestion and, consequently, some headaches, too.

The problem I had with Allegra-D is that it limited my ability to smell. That isn't listed as one of the side-effects, either. Did anyone else have this problem?

Also problematic with Allegra and Zyrtec is that they only offer 12-hour strengths. So, if you take your doses too close together, you may get drowsy.

Have you considered getting Medicaid or a county health plan? That might cover an allergy workup and injections, which really sounds best for you, considering your symptoms and lack of success with medication.

My sister had bad allergies and visited an allergist for a workup and injections. After a while, she no longer had any allergies and no longer needed injections, because her immune system had learned how to deal with the allergens on its own.

Good luck.

Cherie, I got a shitload of sample Allegra from Atmed in Johnston and they barely looked at me.

I know there seems to be some conflicting views toward claratin, but it really works for me. If you have a Big Lots there, they have some fake ones - that really aren't fake. Ingredients are the same as the real stuff, but they cost $1.49 for 10!

claritin-d and opcon-a for eyes.

btw, its ragweed season right now, its totally fuckin me up, sounds like you too.

[Edited on Aug 26, 2005 by Caligula_ODM]

Benadryl is probably the most effective antihistamine, but it has the killer drowsiness side effect. None of them will give immediate relief of symptoms. You will need to take them for a period of time before you get any relief. It's too late now, but if you know you're bothered by grasses, trees, whatever, the best route is to start taking them before they start to bloom.

I read an interesting bit about people who set up clean rooms in their house to sleep in. They had a room in their house with no carpet, drapes, clothes, or excess bedding. They even wrapped their mattresses to keep them free from dust, mites, etc. The idea was that this gave their body 8 hours every night to recover from the exposures they had during the day. It's probably not practical to do it in entirety, but it might give you a couple of ideas.