Should i take allergy medicine everyday

Middleton's Allergy: Principles and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap Clinical practice guideline: allergic rhinitis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. PMID: pubmed. Pharmacologic treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis: synopsis of guidance from the joint task force on practice parameters. Ann Intern Med. Updated by: David C. Editorial team. Antihistamines for allergies.

One type of medicine that helps relieve allergy symptoms is an antihistamine. What are Antihistamines? How Antihistamines Help. Antihistamines treat these allergy symptoms: Congestion, runny nose, sneezing, or itching Swelling of the nasal passages Hives and other skin rashes Itchy, runny eyes Treating symptoms can help you or your child to feel better during the day and sleep better at night.

How to Take Antihistamines. Depending on your symptoms, you can take antihistamines: Every day, to help keep daily symptoms under control Only when you have symptoms Before being exposed to things that often cause your allergy symptoms, such as a pet or certain plants For many people with allergies, symptoms are the worst around 4 a. What Antihistamine is Right for you?

You can buy many different brands and forms of antihistamines without a prescription. Is that … bad? This is for a couple of reasons. Newer allergy medications are also more effective at targeting the respiratory system, thus leaving the central nervous system and brain alone — for the most part. Many people do still experience some form of minor side effect with over the counter antihistamines.

All that said: over-the-counter medication is still medication, and should be treated accordingly. Less fun that it sounds!! Increased histamine sensitizes the respiratory tract, nasal passages to these allergens which can trigger allergy symptoms when exposed. Allergies can be seasonal or they can be present year round. To answer to your question, it's important to clarify how regular is your intake of anti-histamines. If you take antihistamines now and then, when you have a flare-up of symptoms, these medications have been found to be effective and safe.

It is important to note that antihistamines can cause mild side effects like dry mouth and eyes, headaches and drowsiness, although newer formulations can be less sedating. Caution should be used if you are taking prescribed medications due to potential interactions, so check with your doctor or pharmacist.

If you need to use these medications daily for long periods of time, there is a potential chance that your body can become tolerant to their effects, meaning that you may need to take larger doses for the same effect. For my patients who suffer from allergies, we work to get to the potential root causes of their symptoms by identifying and avoiding triggers. If it is not possible to avoid the triggers, a combination of medications may be helpful.