Common Allergy Medications

If you have moderate to severe allergy symptoms and you want to regain your usual comfort, you will require treatment to counteract the activity of mast cells and histamines. Histamines are responsible for immediate allergy reactions, such as itching, dripping from the nose or eyes, itching or redness of the nose or eyes, wheezing, sneezing, hives, or throat tightness. That is why antihistamines are the cornerstone of any allergy treatment. Ideally, you can target your treatment to the site of the symptoms. For example, you might treat a skin rash that involves a small area with corticosteroid creams applied to the skin, treat nasal symptoms with nasal sprays and use eye drops for eye symptoms. Targeting the site of the symptoms helps to limit side effects that may occur when allergy medications are taken by mouth.

It can be important to act quickly. The antibodies that attach themselves to allergens set off a chain reaction involving armies of cells and chemical signals. The immune system can in this way accelerate the initial reaction to an allergen, so if your allergy symptoms are severe, the sooner you start your treatment after an exposure the better.

Once your allergens have been identified, prepare an individualized treatment plan with a health care professional. This plan will focus on identifying your likely allergy triggers, coming up with strategies to reduce your exposure to triggers, knowing the best way to treat symptoms, and understanding what symptoms could make your allergies an emergency.

If your child has allergies or asthma, discuss treatment options with his or her health care professional. Many prescription and over-the-counter allergy medications can be used for children, although the dose will be adjusted for your child's age and/or size, and oral medicines will need to be in a form that your child can easily swallow.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines are medications that block the effects of histamines in allergy. Histamines are responsible for the itching in your skin, nose or eyes. They also cause an increase in nasal mucus or tear production, so histamines make your nose run.

Examples of antihistamines include chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton), diphenhydramine (Benadryl), clemastine (Tavist), fexofenadine (Allegra), loratadine (Claritin) and cetirizine (Zyrtec). Less-sedating antihistamines (Allegra, Claritin, Zyrtec) are available either by prescription or over the counter. The effects of chlorpheniramine last for about four to eight hours.

Side effects commonly include drowsiness and dry mouth. Especially in older adults, antihistamines can cause difficulty urinating, confusion, and an increased risk for falls or injury. If you have heart disease, check with a health care professional before taking any over-the-counter antihistamine preparations, since many of them are packaged in combination with decongestants, and decongestants can raise your blood pressure or heart rate.