Yay, more info on Allegra!

Nova put up a great post last week, “Juice and Allegra.”  It answers the many different questions and comments we received in response to my “Orange Juice with Allegra” piece.  Check it out!

Here’s some extra details on Allegra and its buddies Claritin and Zyrtec.

Congestion -which OTC allergy medication is the best for this problem?

Well, studies have shown that Allegra  may have some anti-inflammatory properties (decreases swelling) that may help to relieve nasal congestion.

Apparently Allegra can block the release of  mast cell and basophil inflammatory mediators, resulting in the whole decrease in nasal swelling and congestion.  Neat, huh? 🙂

Claritin and Zyrtec do not appear to have these same anti-inflammatory properties, making them not a great choice to help with stuffy nose/sinuses due to allergies.

Just thought this would be interesting and helpful to those who’s major symptom is nasal congestion!

In case you’re curious, I suffer from some serious allergies (I think!) here in Charlotte just during the Spring season (end of March to mid-May).  I believe I have found the most effective treatment regimen for myself!  I take Allegra at night (pretty much at bedtime) and fluticasone nasal spray (Flonase) in the morning. 

My very irritating itchy nose, constant sneezing, and nasal/sinus congestion are under control.

I still notice some post-nasal drip and my eyes are still crazy itchy if I put my contacts in, but I’m at the point where I’m not miserable.  I’m not a fan of wearing my glasses (mostly because I don’t see as well out of them and they make me sleepy), but my eyes seem to hardly itch when I’m not wearing my contacts.

I’m not sure which medication is doing the best job, and I’m not really up for doing a trial run without one of them to figure it out.  I do know that my symptoms were not well controlled with just Allegra and Sudafed.  When I added fluticasone nasal spray and took off the Sudafed, my quality of life increased dramatically!

No need to worry, I’ll be posting about my new friend fluticasone nasal spray next. 🙂

**This is Cate from the future…check out this bit of info about fluticasone nasal spray by clicking here**

Please keep leaving your comments and questions below…it’s fun!

You can also e-mail me at Cate@getpharmacyadvice.com.

Have a great Sunday!