Waging the war against watering eyes

Many people are gearing up for the yearly battle against allergies.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Every year, millions of Americans suffer from runny noses, itchy irritated eyes, coughing, sore throats and sneezing. With so many companies advertising medicines to fight these allergies, it may be hard for people to decide which one works best for them. Popular brands such as Zyrtec, Claritin, and Mucinex certainly spend a lot of time on their ad campaigns, but is a lot of time really spent making the patient actually feel better?

Spring allergies can be triggered by pollen, trees, and grass. Although these are often unavoidable, they can be taken care of by medicines recommended by your doctor.

Just because certain medications work well for one person, that doesn’t mean they work well for everyone. To find out which ones will help the most, speak to a doctor to get recommendations.

Allergy medications work as antihistamines and decongestants, which relieve stuffiness and congestion in the nose. These can be taken in the form of pills, liquid, or a nasal spray. In addition to medication, tissues are an effective method of dealing with a stuffy nose.

There are many different brands of cough drops, like Ludens, Halls, or Ricola, that can help with getting rid of a sore throat.

“I like Halls brand because they make me feel better physically and mentally with all of their encouraging quotes,” junior DeeJay Benfant said.

Although someone can easily buy medications for $10-$20 at any drug store, there’s no guarantee that they will work. They may even cause harmful side effects.

For the best chance of getting rid of allergies, talk to an allergy doctor. They will be able to assess what will best help their patients personally. They can write a prescription for medicine that will work best for them, and will prevent harmful side effects.

“I have year round allergies, so getting a prescription nasal spray from an allergist is the most effective thing I’ve done,” junior Kaitlyn Gottschalk said. “I have used both prescription and over the counter medications, but prescription was the best route for me, at least. Everyone’s different, so over the counter might work perfectly well for someone else, and the same applies to prescription.”

Talking to a doctor about allergies will ensure the fastest, safest and most effective relief.

Although allergies can be a pain to deal with, they’re inevitable with season changes. Between tissues, medicine and cough drops, alleviating the problems caused by allergies doesn’t have to be a battle.

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