Which do you feel helped your seasonal allergies more? Any relieve herxing more? I take Zyrtec now, but get little to no relief from what I 'think' are allergy symptoms. Thoughts are appreciated.
BTW, Claritin and Benedryl doesn't do much for me either.
Posted by Lemon-Lyme (Member # 19229) on :
Allegra works better for me.
Zyrtec made me rather tired and didn't seem to work as well.
Claritin works... eh, I guess better than nothing, but not quite as good as Allegra does.
But the best as far as allergy relief, for me, would be either chlortrimitron or benedryl. But they are also 'zombie' medicines, as they make me sleepy, so I can't use them as an everyday med. I'm sort of surprised when you say benedryl doesn't do much for you, as it's one of the more powerful antihistamines out there.
For nasal allergy stuff, I also find nasalcrom spray and a saline wash helpful. Combination of allegra + nasalcrom + saline has helped me a lot this allergy season.
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
/\ Anyone else try both and have a preference?
Posted by jarjar (Member # 8847) on :
I know longer need the stuff due to allergy shots but back when I did need it Allegra D was the most effective for me.
Posted by desertwind (Member # 25256) on :
I have tried both and find they pretty much both helped the same.
Zyrtec - I am a lightwieght and would take 5mg.s in the am and 5 mg.s in the pm. With really bad allergies I would take a full 10 mg. in am. Yes, did help with all sorts of herxing. Does make me a bit tired but functional if I split the dose.
Allegra - Took twice a day - two smaller doses as well. I founnd the Allegra was no more or less effective then Zyrtec but made me way more tired...Hard to function..
I add Mucinex to the mix.
The best thing ever for my nasal allergies is Astepro or Pantanse. They both clear my nasal sinuses - like they are clear as a whistle. Most times I use the nasal and oral and feel half decent allergy-wise.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Allegra seems to help me a little more with the nasal symptoms. Zyrtec seems to work a little better for itchy type symptoms. I go back and forth between these two brands.
I also use nasalcrom nose spray at night to prevent congestion. It physically blocks the allergens so it works in a different way than the oral meds.
Posted by philly78 (Member # 31069) on :
I've tried both and I prefer the Zyrtec but different meds will work better for different people. I actually prefer alavert allergy and sinus over the two.
I'm also a big believer in using a neti pot. I think using it daily has greatly reduced my need for OTC meds. This is good for me because I often get palpitations when using the decongestants.
Another option is to try Patanase. It is a nasal spray antihistamine...non steroidal...and helps mostly with the post nasal drip and sneezing associated with allergies. I use it mostly in the fall when my allergies are at their worst.
Posted by James1979 (Member # 31926) on :
I like allegra more than zyrtec, but...
This year I'm doing an experiment and taking only Stinging Nettle tablets for my seasonal allergies. It's 2 weeks into allergy season and I'm not having any symptoms. The nettle seems to be just as effective as the allegra was for me.
Posted by lymeinhell (Member # 4622) on :
My Allergist had my try both for 2 weeks to see what worked better. Allegra did nothing for me.
That said, you should keep in mind what time of day you take 24 hour allergy meds.
It was explained to me that your immune system is at it's lowest in the evening ... thus, that would be the time you would need the most help with allergies, so you should take your allergy med late afternoon so that it is in full force for early/late evening.
I take Zyrtec at 3pm - switching the time made a significant difference for me.
Seek, if you have both, give it a try.
If Benadryl does nothing for you, perhaps your issues require a decongestant? None of these have a decongestant - just antihistamine, blocking the allergic reaction.
What symptoms do you have that aren't resolved? Could they perhaps be undx'd food allergies? Fungal issues?