What Can I Do About These Allergies?

try allergy shots. And the Neti Pot works wonders. I am afraid of it myself, but my husband and kids swear by it. They all use theirs, all the time. Good luck, I know you must be so miserable.

You have a Sinus INFECTION... exacerbated by allergies.

Get: Sudafed, with Pseudoephedrine.
You have to ask the pharmacist for it, because it is behind the counter.
It is non-drowsy, 12-hour.

My Husband has sinus issues. ONLY this Sudafed, works on him.
And he uses the Neti Pot.
Even my 8 year old daughter, uses it. She's been able to use it from 3-4 years old.

Sinus infections, can take tons of time, to get rid of.
Because the sinus cavity is very dark/dank/full of bacteria.
And yes, you may need a prescription nose spray and/or antibiotics.

Sinus infections, can be very debilitating.
And hopefully, it does not get worse. Post-nasal drip can also infect the lungs. I had that happen to me once just from a common cold... and it developed into a lung infection/Pneumonia.

Try: Allegra, versus Claritin or Zyrtec.

Cats and pets, CAN be allergenic. It is the Dander. And yes, it can be developed in a person, anytime. I am allergic to cats. My Mom is allergic to pet dander... but only developed that tendency later in life.
GET an air-filer/air purifier. You NEED this.

When you pet your cats, do not touch your face... this will make your sinus's worse. IF you are reacting to their fur/dust/dander.
I have always had pets, BUT I CANNOT touch my face... after I pet them or play with them. If I do... it makes me have full on allergic reactions. Watery eyes/sneezing/itchy eyes and runny nose.

Try OPC3. It will help you in so many ways. It's a supercharged antioxidant. Antioxidants fight free radicals which is usually the first thing your immune system does. If the OPC3 is fighting the free radicals it frees your immune system up to fight sickness and disease. I have a neighbor that has Fibromyalgia, lyme disease, sleep apnea, he's hypoglycemic.......poor guy is just a mess. There are days he can't get out of bed. When he takes the OPC3 failthfully everyday he feels really good and even has energy.
Here's a link. They are offering free shipping right now on this and the Aloe that I always rave about. The OPC3 comes out to less than a cup of coffee a day.
Hope it helps.

http://bit.ly/r3uZMc

yes, you can develop allergies to things/animals over time. My son lived on peanut butter until he was 4 & then became allergic to it. The allergist said it was the direct result of over-indulgence (he ate it once a day....or so).

As a child & thru to about 40, dogs did not bother me. Now they do. I am able to live with non-shedding dogs as long as we keep them clean. But forget cats...I break out in hives!

The trick to using Zyrtec is that it has to be used the same as birth control. Everyday, same time of day. You may need to consider a nasal spray & eye drops, too. & as for that neti pot.....don't let fear stop you from seeking an easy solution that may just help you!

Give your house a thorough cleaning...eliminate as much cat hair as possible. Start the daily Zyrtec, use the neti pot. Hopefully this all will help!

It concerns me that your throat constricted. This can be the first stage of anaphylactic shock, a life threatening condition. It happens when your airways become so constricted that you can't breathe. I have nasal allergies and have friends with nasal allergies and we've never had our throats constrict. A face that gets puffy quickly upon exposure can be a part of anaphylaxis.

Have you tried getting medical care thru the county clinic? They charge on a sliding fee schedule. In my area there are a couple of low cost clinics starting up. I suggest that you make an appointment to find out how serious your reaction might be.

The prescription nasal spray noticeably helps keep my nose clear and my throat not scratchy or sore. It is generic and inexpensive.

I have allergies and allergy-inducsed asthma so I can definately sympathize! What I have found that over the last few years (and my doctor has confirmed) is that my allergies have gotten worse (as they tend to do) and more people who have never had allergy problems are developing symptoms. It sounds like you have SEVERE allergies and I am not sure any homepathic remedy is going to help you be symptom free (but they could lessen your symptoms)...you would be best served by a good allergist. In the beginning, it would be costly but would save you in the long run because having the symptoms you described is most definately adding to you illnesses and your overall lack of well being.

What I would suggest other than getting tested and treated appropriately is to limit your exposure to that things you seem to have the worst reactions to (weeds?) and protect yourself when you must be exposed (wear gloves, cover your nose and mouth). Be conscience of dust in your home...clean and vaccum and wash your linens often. Try to limit cat hair (cat dander is stickier so even if they were only indoors once in a while, you will have cat dander whereas dog dander isn't sticky and therefore easier to get rid of...according to my doctor). Be aware of the products you use in your home (shampoos, cleaners, detergent, etc.). There are lots of chemicals in these and can also trigger reactions. Because we consider them safe (wouldn't be on the market if they weren't right?) we don't think about them. Definately want to be sure you are getting safe products, perferable toxin-free.

I have allergies year round, worse at the change of seasons and especially around live trees. Singulair has really helped both me and my daughter.

Neti pot. it only takes a couple times to get the hang of it and it works wonders. don't use more than 2x per day. my now 8 year old has been using it since she was 6 - if she can do it, so can you.
take a shower every night before bed to wash off any allergens before you sleep.
get rid of all chemicals in the house - it will allow your body to relax at least a little.....this means no fragance and no dyes in any cleaning products or any personal care products. cleaning products should be changed to vinegar and baking soda - get rid of everything else (normally I tell people to use them up, but you seem to need drastic intervention). laundry detergent - we use all free and clear because my kids and i are super sensitive and react to almost everything else. no softener - use vinegar in the softener to remove even more residue and use a double rinse. no dryer sheets - dryer balls work pretty well. as for personal care - i'd go to dove sensitive sking and dr. bronner's for shampoo.
also, try minimizing/cleaning up diet. get rid of anything with dyes or ingredients that you don't know what they are. cook from scratch and keep it super simple - fruits, veggies, rice, protein.
lastly, get a vacuum cleaner w/ a hepa filter and have someone else use it every day with you out of the house for at least an hour afterwards to let things settle.
also, you might try having your ducts cleaned.
and, I'll echo what someone said about zyrtec - same time every day and it will work the best.
good luck.

Neti pot takes a little while to get used to, but it is not that scary once you get the hang of it. It is *not* like getting water up your nose at the swimming pool!

Allergy ReLeaf system has been amazingly effective for me. It's basically an herbal scattershot approach, a combination of every anti-allergy herbal remedy and then some.

I have also thrown out all our pillows. I use a balled-up sheet, towel, or polarfleece for my pillow. This gets washed regularly. Pillows are difficult to impossible to clean effectively.

Yes, you may have developed an allergy to your cats. Also, check your house for mold.

Oil pulling helps for some people. Basically, you swish oil in your mouth for 20 minutes. Do an internet search for details. It doesn't directly address the allergies, but removes bacteria from your mouth so your immune system has one less problem to deal with.

Good luck!!!

If your allergies don't go away this winter, it is possible that you developed an indoor allergy like dust or your cats. If you think that is the case you might try washing all your bedding, vaccuuming, and then keeping your cats out of your bedroom to see if that helps.

But given your reaction to pulling weeds, it sounds more likely to me that it is an allergy to pollens. If so, you are actually better off keeping your windows closed as much as possible, using air conditioning if it's hot, and then dusing/vaccuuming/etc really well, to get rid of the pollens that have floated into your house through open windows. Again, if you've been sleeping with your windows to your bedroom open, you may need to wash all your bedding and then start keeping the windows closed.

In terms of medicines, the only thing that really works for me are the nasal steroid sprays. But they are prescription, so you'd need to talk to your doctor. If you've seen him/her recently, I would think that they could prescribe one to try, without another office visit, and there is a generic so it's not too expensive. It can't hurt to call and ask.

And, of course the most effective anti-histamine is benedryl. Clinically, it works better than allegra, zyrtec, claratin, etc. And it is less expensive than any of those. The downside is that it can make you very sleepy. When I'm having a really bad allergy episode, I use it at night along with the nasal spray to get my allergies under control.

Good luck

This was a bad year for allergies in many areas, due to lack of rain and plants producing more pollen, etc. I did the route you did for many years - tons of money but only treated the symptoms. I now take a comprehensive liquid nutritional supplement and have detoxified my body, removing the allergens. I am symptom-free, medication-free, and can breathe at night. You can't do it with just this vitamin or that mineral -it needs to be balanced and that's not something you can do yourself. I also do not get sick at all - you mentioned multiple illnesses and it's clear that your immune system needs strengthening. I can help you with this if you want to connect.

You could also use a neti pot - you can buy it in most drug stores now and also health food stores. You use warm water with a pinch of salt and a pinch of baking soda, and flush your nose and sinuses. It feels weird and you will need to blow your nose afterwards, but it helps with the nasal/sinus thing. It won't help with the watery eyes. But still, you are treating the symptoms.

It would be better and far more cost effective for you to get to the cause and boost your immune system, but that has to be done carefully and not by believing every commercial made by "big Pharma" or taking something that wasn't designed by food scientists.

You could try allergy shots- get tested to see exactly what you're allergic to and then have gradually increasing amounts in the shot. Eating local honey uses the same gradual exposure idea, but less precise(and wouldn't help with pet, mold, or dust).
Or keep taking an antihistamine such as claritin, zyrtec, allegra, or benadryl and then add a prescription nasal steroid spray. Or an over the counter spray such as saline or the neti pot(I've never tried it either).
I get allergy shots and take Zyrtec, benadryl, and Astelin. If it gets really bad, I take a round of prednisone and sudafed. Plus I have an asthma inhaler if I get allergy-triggered asthma.

This season has been especially bad for allergies. Around mid-August I thought my head was going to explode! I have severe allergies plus allergy induced asthma plus a dog. Yes, I am allergic to everything under the sun, literally. I have found the combo of Nasonex and Zyrtec/Claritan works best for me. However, I have also been trying organic Apple Cider vinegar (which can be found in organic/natural food stores) along with raw unprocessed honey daily and I can tell a difference (of course it could be the placebo effect) but certainly worth checking out for yourself; http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvinegar.html
Also, fully agree the other things posted are fantastic and I do them religiously and notice a difference if I don't; hepa filter/vacuum, air purifier (especially for the bedroom), vacuuming daily, washing everything you can and spraying what you can't with anti-allergen spray along with wiping your animal down and keeping them out of the bedroom. To be honest, I bought a Neti-Pot but have been too chicken to use it. I need to just get over it and give it a shot. Good luck and I hope you get to feeling better soon!

Local honey. It's like an oral allergy shot. My son was on 24 hr allegra twice a day and after two weeks of local honey (2tbsp a day) he was off allergy meds completely. Go to a farmer's market or natural foods type store to get some, it has to be from your general area made with the pollens in your area or it won't work.

You got very good replies but I would like to add that I too have allergies.I am worse this year than some. I've had my eyes completely swell shut over the years and this year they are very bad too. I would wonder why you are out pulling weeds and messing with a garden hose? I avoid going outside at all costs this time of year and I would think you would need to do that also. If I go out in the evening now I wheeze and it gets very bad from the night air. I would advise you that whatever medication you take you also do the things that help such as staying away from weeds, grass, pollen and animals if you can. Cats are a number one ( or up there at least ) animal for most people to have allergies to so I would try to protect yourself from them too, wash your hands when you touch them, etc. I get a rash if I touch my face or don't wash my hands after petting a cat. You can also develop allergies to something like someone else told you too. You can have allergies over the winter depending on what the allergy is. There is dust, mold, etc. in the winter so I would try to get some kind of insurance and get yourself skin tested at an allergist, be sure to dust often and change the furnace filter. They can tell you whether you need shots, or what medication to take depending on what is causing it. You may need to get the sinus issues cleared up first and then try a nose spray like flonase or nasanex ( both may be spelled wrong ), etc. along with the other medication. It's nothing to mess around with. You can swell badly, which I have, and then it's very serious.

Yep, I'd try Allegra too. My son uses it for his allergies. We were told by his doctor that over long periods of use your body will adapt and the meds will lose effectiveness. So he used Zyrtec for several months, then it seemed to not be doing anything, so we switched to Allegra. It was like a miracle! Then over a few months time, his started getting symptom creep (slowly getting worse again).... went back to the Zyrtec.. it was amazing how much better it worked.

His symptoms generally are improving, as we are doing the immunotherapy (allergy shots)... but he still has symptoms. They are getting less noticeable all the time. But they are so bad that he still needs OTC to help in the meantime. But at least I don't feel the hourly desire to kick myself for not investing in Kleenex stocks. He is down to a box a week these days, lol.

Usually allergies start to calm down after the first frost. Too many antibiotics can break down your immune system. I know you have many symptoms, but if you just have a clogged head you can eat 1/2 a grapefruit every morning and you won't believe the difference it makes. It's one of the tricks that pilots do to keep their heads clear. Good luck.

Hi B.,

I use to have allergies so bad my husband had to bring me a hot wet compress to get my eyes open in the morning. It was awful. I went through everything you did and got fed up and did go the holistic way. I started slow because I didn't know what I was doing but if I knew then what I know now I would have dived in with both feet.

I take an absorbable multivitamin/mineral complex that does not create free radicals. I have detoxed my home (inexpensively) and am in regular chiropractic care. I have not had anything close to allergy or even sickness in years. As a kid that was in and out of hospitals all my life and drugged for everything, my immune system was shot. I simply had to rebuild it. The body is amazingly resilient.

If you are interested in specifics I can walk you through exactly what I did. It's saved my health and my pocketbook.

God bless,
M.

You said that you don't have insurance so this isn't going to be what you want to hear, but you have allergies, and the only way your going to be able to live with them is to be tested by an allergist to see exactly what you are allergic to and then get allergy shots. The shots are given weekly and they slowly build up you immunity to the things you are allergic to. It take a while, could even take years, but you will be relieved of your symptoms and you won't be sick all the time. And YES you can develop allergies to your cats and have allergies over the winter. I would bet your little fur baby that you are allergic to cats if you are as sick as it sounds you are. You can be allergic to dust, and mold which some times get worse over the winter. People get allergies because immune systems are overloaded and many times allergies develop as you get older and your immune systems are over exposed to allergens.