Allergy Medications?

[ema]

Does anyone know of anything we can take for allergies that does not have dry eye as a side effect?

I rarely get allergies, but this year I have them from something that is blooming and floating around in the air. Kinda hard to escape from the air!

Thanks in advance,
ema

[Plat]

Try this

Opticrom, does not have antihistamine that dries eyes. This is eye drops, of course with BAK as perservative. Not sure about pills but interested to know if there are any mast cell stabilizer OTC without antihistamine. NasalCrom® [OTC] for sinuses.

[Teri]

Ema,

You have my sympathies, as I, too, suffer from seasonal allergies and have had to give up all of my medications. First the bad news: any antihistamines will be drying, and I have also found that prescription nasal sprays (like Nasonex) are also very drying. Even something like Singulair (a steroid) bothered me.

Now the good news: I use a neti pot now, and it works great. It is essentially a saline solution that you use to rinse out your nasal passages one or more times a day. It is effective at keeping my symptoms at a manageable level.

Also, my Panoptx keep allergens from getting in my eyes when I'm outside, so I don't get the kind of irritation that would require an allergy eye drop.

I hope this helps,
Teri

[kitty]

I use Zyrtec, or the equivalent generic. It does not seem to affect my eyes. Look for OTC options that do not contain traditional antihistamines.

[Plat]

Hi

Isn't Zyrtec an antihistamine?

[RDAC]

I also ...

I also use Zyrtec and have no problems ...

[ema]

Thanks guys, I might try the neti pot...I am TERRIFIED to take any medication that could potentially dry my eyes out.

Does anyone find that stress causes their eyes to feel worse? I am so stressed about my eyes and any little ache and pain that I have because my mind takes it to the extreme "what if" level. I am wondering if I learn to manage my stress level if that would improve my eyes any?

It's funny, I don't get stressed about work or really much else at all, only about my health.

[kitty]

Isn't Zyrtec an antihistamine?

It is an antihistamine but it does not seem to have the eye drying effects of other OTC meds like Benadryl, chlortrimetron, etc., at least with my eyes. There are prescription allergy medications I believe that do not contain antihistamines if you cannot tolerate Zyrtec.

[Teri]

Ema,

I definitely agree that stress makes my eyes feel worse, and I think that trying some regular stress management method (therapy, yoga, meditation?) would help you. At least, you'll get better at recognizing when you're starting to freak out about your eyes, and you'll be able to put a halt to that stress-inducing rumination.

I've been dealing with this for three years now, and whenever I realize that I'm getting worked up about my health ("What if this leads to that? What if it gets worse? What if....") I can take a deep breath, step back and look at what's bringing those thoughts on, and tell myself to calm down. It's hard to be patient, but that is what is needed. I tell myself that I will eventually figure out a solution to the problem and that I will feel better. Sometimes, just holding onto that hope and believing that you will improve is enough to start improving.

Of course, it's taken 2+ years of weekly psychotherapy to get to this point!

Hang in there!
Teri