Best Allergy Meds: Nasonex and Claritin!

When I was a kid, I had this obnoxious allergy problem which resulted in something called a croup cough. I’ll do an article on it soon, but for now let’s just say it’s a ridiculous sounding cough that makes you sound a bit like a barking seal. Seriously, that’s the way many doctors actually describe it. Anyway, it was the direct result of having loads of allergies. To compound the issue, I have a crap Eustachian tube in my right ear, which gleefully allows fluids to build up when seasonal allergens are present.

This leads to inner-ear pressure, which makes singing in a live band somewhat problematic at times, particularly since to my right ear sits next to a very loud Fender amplifier during most of my gigs. There have been times when the pain made me want to cry – pain which wouldn’t have existed all, were my allergies not creating fluid build-up in that particular ear. I should have gotten meds at that point, but I wasn’t convinced it was due to allergies yet.

Let me clarify that.

You see, when I’d left home and headed to Texas, my childhood allergies disappeared. Overnight. It was fantastic. Reason being, I had left behind all those allergies I’d developed as a kid, and was now being exposed to different pollens and plants. Allergies take time to build, they rarely happen overnight, unless you are born with a severe allergy to something like nuts, for example. I was allergy free for almost 4 years. And then the new set hit me. I woke up one spring and was plagued by a runny nose and stuffy head. I treated my symptoms with over the counter meds like Sudafed and Tylenol sinus, but these did very little to help.

This worked wonders and took care of my allergies within the first week of using it. I kept on with it over the next few years until I moved to Europe. Once again, my allergies seemed to disappear – I went off the Claritin and forgot all about it. Until I woke up this past March with a swollen right eyelid. To be honest, I’d turned 31 that week and was in a slight panic, thinking I’d aged overnight. It wasn’t until my neighbor mentioned all the blossoms on the trees that I realized I was having full-blown allergies.

My head was so congested I could hardly think. My right eyelid (thanks to my rogue Eustachian tube) was so swollen that my Field of View was actually reduced by maybe 10%. That’s a lot! I didn’t want to go back on meds, but I realized I was going to have to, or I’d never clear my head long enough to get any writing done. I went back on Claritin and saw decent results after about a week – but that eyelid was still puffy.

I needed something more, but what? I didn’t want Claritin D, as I’d heard too many negatives about it. I didn’t want to switch to another pill from another company, because I already knew I could tolerate Claritin without feeling drowsy – which is really important to me. So what did I do? The only logical choice left was a nasal spray – but I was very freaked out about it. I can’t explain why, I just didn’t like the idea of inhaling something. But I had no choice. It was that, or be happy with a swollen eyelid.

They say it takes a few days for this to start working. Well, guess what; within 48 hours, I had a totally clear head and the edema in my eyelid was gone. Amen, hallelujah! I don’t know why I didn’t do this before, it’s a piece of cake and worked wonders. I still take a Claritin every day, just in case, but Nasonex is doing most of the work, I’m sure of it. Both are made by the same company, by the way – Schering-Plough. They are both prescription-only where I live, but in the USA, Claritin is over the counter. You will need a prescription for Nasonex, though.

Some additional tips for allergy sufferers:

• To avoid morning congestion, try to prop yourself up on your back while sleeping so fluids can drain properly.

• If you're like me and have a testy Eustachian tube, don’t sleep with that ear on the pillow - it can lead to temporary puffiness on that side of your face.

• If applying eye creams before bed, take care not to get any in your eyes – if your tear ducts go into overdrive while you're asleep, you can wake up with extra swollen eyelids.

• Avoid products like Afrin – they may work initially, but often have a horrible rebound effect which can lead to major congestion.

• Make sure you’re not allergic to your pillow – goose feathers and other materials can be a nightmare.

• If you're taking something like Claritin or Nasonex, make sure you take them every day – these are not instant symptom relievers, you need a certain level of it in your blood before it becomes effective.