Eyedrops for allergy miseries

[Grenadier]

It's that time of the year, when things are in full bloom, and the multitude of colorful flower petals blasting their presence on the trees, creates that feast of visual treats.

Unfortunately, it also means that my eyes are constantly in a state of that horrible, deep-seated itch.

Normally, I'd ask the doctor for a prescription for whatever eyedrops that she recommends for allergy problems, but my appointment is still two weeks away, and the thick coats of green pollen are plastering my car, my grill, etc.

Anyways, here is my unofficial review of a few OTC occular products that I've been testing, to see which one actually helps.

Visine original: Utterly useless. No relief at all from the itchiness, and all it does is constrict your eye's blood vessels to "clear up the color." Not exactly encouraging.

Wal-Mart generic eye drops, called "Artificial Tears:" No relief from the itchiness. Really only good if your eyes got dry.

Naphcon-A: This actually works, since it includes an antihistamine in it. A bit more irritating than the other two above, but at this point, the eyes were itching so much, that the slight burning was actually a welcome sign. Applied a drop in each eye at 8 AM today, and the relief is still there.

Supposedly, Naphcon-A is the same thing as Ocuhist (aka Visine-A). I have been warned, though, that this stuff can cause temporary pupil dilation.

At this point, I'm probably going to stick with conservative doses of Naphcon-A.

 

[Ping898]

I use Naphcon-A at the eye docs recommendation, but eye doc did warn me to not use it for more than a couple weeks straight as it could cause damage...

 

[Kacey]

When my allergies kick in, I take Allegra... takes care of the eyes and the sinuses. If you can't get Allegra (requires a prescription) my doctor also suggested Claritin-D, which is now an over-the-counter medication. This was just yesterday - I took the prescription for Allegra because I know it works for me...

The other thing I've found that works is Benadryl - my doctor also recommended taking a kid's dose of Benadryl liquid, which is sometimes enough to off-set the symptoms, but not enough to put most people to sleep.

 

[Shuto]

The other thing I've found that works is Benadryl - my doctor also recommended taking a kid's dose of Benadryl liquid, which is sometimes enough to off-set the symptoms, but not enough to put most people to sleep.

FWIW I needed to take benedryl on a ~daily basis for many months a while ago. When I started, I couldn't keep my eyes open and I would quickly fall into a deep sleep after a single dose. But after awhile I developed a tollerance so that I can now take it without the sleepy side-effect.

 

[Shaderon]

The only thing that's ever worked for me was a herbal remedy, anti-histamines tend to do nothing at all for me. The herbal remedy I had last was one which I had to start to take three weeks before the pollen came out, so I started at the beginning of April and just carried on all the way through. Every year I suffer less and less, the herbal stuff seems to have jump started my system into kicking the allergy!

Sorry I can't rememebr which remedy it was, and they shop I bought it in has shut down. I just hope I have improved enough to not need it this year.

 

[Ping898]

Well if we are talking allergies in general, I am on Astelin, Nasonex and Singulair year round....the combo is....ok, best combo I can get, but still not enough to completely alleviate my allergies...

 

[Carol]

The only thing that's ever worked for me was a herbal remedy, anti-histamines tend to do nothing at all for me. The herbal remedy I had last was one which I had to start to take three weeks before the pollen came out, so I started at the beginning of April and just carried on all the way through. Every year I suffer less and less, the herbal stuff seems to have jump started my system into kicking the allergy!

Sorry I can't rememebr which remedy it was, and they shop I bought it in has shut down. I just hope I have improved enough to not need it this year.

Two common homeopathic treatments are Quercetin and Stinging Nettle leaf. These are often blended together in the same preparation along with a few other wellness promoting ingredients such as Vitamin C.

 

[Shaderon]

Two common homeopathic treatments are Quercetin and Stinging Nettle leaf. These are often blended together in the same preparation along with a few other wellness promoting ingredients such as Vitamin C.

I'm not sure what the ingredients were, I would recognise the brand name and the tube only. Thanks though Carol.