jagged

Forget rain; forget below-freezing weather; forget 105 degree F weather; commuting during allergy season is the absolute worst. I arrive at work sneezing and sniffing. I just used up a half-box of kleenex blowing my nose.

I've been commuting year-round for years, but I don't remember it being this bad before. Anyone have some tips? I saw one old forum post mention a bandana around the face. I might do that, although I am concerned it will make it look like I just robbed a stagecoach.

RonH

Same here. I tried Claritin but it didn't help much. My pharmacist recommended Zyrtec. Relieves about 80% of the problems. I still sneeze occasionally and feel stopped up but I'm not as close to death as I was before.

mangosalsa

+1 on the Zyrtec. Sometimes I'll take a Benedril when I get to work, if it's really bad. Seems to only affect me on really heavy pollen days.

striker_dj

Allergies have been bad for me too, but i wear the bandana for the purpose of making myself look like I just robbed a stagecoach!

Actually, I don't go anywhere without my buff: https://www.buffwear.com/

units

+1 on the Zyrtec as well. Today was super windy as well, and felt like the wind was just stuffing pollen up my nose, however overall the Zyrtec is definitely the best 12/24 hour allergy tablet I've taken.

DataJunkie

I have positively horrific allergies when the cottonwoods are pollinating.
My complete regime is:
1) Zyrtec
2) Nasal flushing. It sounds odd but it does work. I tried it after another forum member recommended it. Climbhoser I believe.
3) Flonase
4) Prescription eye drops. Patinol? It gets so bad that my eyes develop allergen caused conjunctivitous for a week. I still need to work on that next year.

I am finished with the worst of my allergies. I keep taking flonase so I can breathe and occasionally flush my sinuses. From time to time my allergies kick in and I will take zyrtec.

Everyone is different but that is what works for me.

Hydrated

I have fought with allergy problems my whole life... but I've found that daily commuting helps me to keep my allergies from becoming overwhelming. My theory is that the regular exposure to the allergens makes my body get more accustomed to their effects. Dunno if I'm right... but it's a theory!

I also would highly recommend that you see a doctor if your problems are severe. A good allergy specialist can give you strategies to not only get you through it, but actually make you feel better.

ClanLee

I have seasonal allergies and usually take Allegra 180. When it's really bad, I take pseudoephedrine 60 mg. With that combination, it relieves 90% of my symptoms. It's actually better if you take it before you have any symptoms.

Technojunkie

Simply Saline nasal spray augmented with Nasalcrom. That works better than the newer, expensive, still on patent stuff they're pushing these days. You can use saline as much as you want. Sinus irrigation (#2 on DataJunkie's list) is great too. National Allergy Supply has a decent selection.

Go see an allergist and get tested. Allergy shots make a huge difference but they take a long time to have an effect.

sean000

+1 to all of the above.

In allergy season I take Claritan or Zyrtec, but what really seems to help is a prescription nasal spray like Flonase or Nasarel. I only use this stuff a few months out of the year though. The rest of the time I get by with simple saline spray and occasional sinus irrigation (which I think actually feels good when you get the salinity level right).

If it wasn't for the sinus irrigation and occasional prescription nasal spray, I'd have several months of misery.

late

Another one to try is Tavsit. My Doc had me taking a half a Zyrtec at bedtime and
a half a Tavist before rides. I bring some Tavist along in case it's not enough.

+1 on the Flonase, too.

JugglerDave

I have no problems while I am riding, but I start sneezing uncontrollably 5-10 minutes after I finish my ride. Invariably, this is just as the train pulls up and I'm hauling my folder on board while sniffling and wheezing.

pinkrobe

10 mg of loratadine [I think that's what it is] every day from now until the snow flies.. It's the active ingredient in Reactine or Claritin. On any day that even looks like it might be bad, I double-dose. Pollen this year isn't that bad so far, but I'm waitng for the trees to dump their load...

KrisPistofferson

Noticed a couple things:

1. Allergies tend to get worse as you get older. I didn't really get them until I was in my mid-twenties.

2. I am hyper-sensitive to drowsiness, even from the stuff that isn't supposed to make you drowsy, so I get by with taking Benadryl at night time. I also notice, and I'm not saying this will be true for anybody else, is that if I take a quality multivitamin (like the ones from GNC,) it makes my symptoms not as bad.

caloso

I've become a big believer in nasal irrigation. It takes some getting used to, but it works.

stevo9er

https://www.respro.com/products/sport...sportsta_mask/

Plus you look like a ninja or something.

Machka 

Claritin and my inhalers work well for me.

fat biker

Ask your doc for an Rx for Flonase. Wonderful stuff. Works for me.

Luck with the allergies,
Jeff

www.flonase.com

TXChick

I've had excellent results with Zyrtec over the years, which is now OTC--woohoo! If you're looking for something more natural, I highly recommend a neti pot (use one everyday) and you can also buy local honey and eat that to build immunity to local pollen. (Double whammy if you mix it with a good apple cider vinegar like Bragg's.)

Technojunkie

Me want! Froogle found an American dealer:
https://www.allergybegone.com/confacmas.html

About Nasalcrom: it was prescription, it went OTC a few years ago. CVS sells the generic version (cromolyn sodium) for about $12 a bottle. It's a mast cell stabilizer, not a corticosteroid, and is one of the safest sprays you can use. It works far better than steroid sprays for me. YMMV.

jagged

Thanks everyone for the advice. This morning, I wrapped a winter scarf lightly around my nose and mouth. I don't know if it was the scarf or a lower pollen count, but I felt a lot better when I arrived at work.

Tylox

Zyrtec is now OTC and generic (almost half the cost). I currently use prescription nasal allergy spray (used to use flonase, now it is Atrovent) and combine that with Zyrtec during the more heavy pollen months (e.g. right now). Even though I have to take 2-3 Zyrtec, it is still cheaper than getting a new prescription.

I definitely +1 to nasal irrigation (Neti Pot). It took me a few years to try it because it always looked funny, but once I tried it, I was hooked. You really don't feel it and notice the difference immediately.

rugerben

I hate it. I always had terrible allergies (like I'd spend one week every fall just in my room doped up on benadryl and sudafed because my allergies were too bad for Claritin-D or zyrtec to work.

Then I started getting allergy shots about a year ago. WHOA WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! I can be a real person!!! Now I ride to my allergy shot appointments. helllls-yeah. You are talking to a long term severe allergy sufferer and you know what? I've been riding and hiking all week!!! I sometimes ride through my MUP where the pollen falls and it looks like heavy snow it's so thick coming down. The pollen bounces off of me, I might sneeze once, but that's it. I'm fine.

All hail the mighty allergy shot...and the bike that takes me there (a Giant Transend, or a 1976 Rampar R-Four)

Nightshade

First invest AND USE a "Neti pot" to flush out pollen and dust that
collects in the nasal cavity (which is quite large) then ask your doctor
for a "kenalog" shot to desensitize your body to the pollen & dust.

Now don't laugh or scoff about washing 'inside' your head 'cause
you wash the outside (and brush your teeth) to clean dirt off don't you?

My wife has had allergies all her life but now that she uses a Neti pot
and the kenalog shot every three months (they're pretty cheap) she
suffers no more.

https://www.oprah.com/health/oz/oz_20..._350_106.jhtml

KrisPistofferson

Neti pot works for that, too? I need to get me one of those.