The cedar count in Austin has been terrible this week. It was really high Monday, but today felt much worse with all the wind. This is the worst time in which to be in Austin, and I dread leaving the house, even to go to class. Any advice as far as treatment would be welcomed. I've been sneezing, sniffling, and my eyes have been itching all day long. This blows.
I had the allergies real bad about two weeks ago here in Austin. I use Zyrtec D and that seems to help. Also, I started using Nasonex and either it really helped or the allergens went down as a coincidence. Some people swear by Claritin D, but Zyrtec seems to work best for me.
I've been taking Allegra for about a month. Actually its the knock off generic brand. But give it a full day and at the very least your throat won't be so itchy, and your nose won't be so runny. The knock off is called fexofenadine. Give it a shot. Within one day I stopped sneezing so much. By day 2 my nose fully stopped running and didn't feel so clogged either. Ever since my allergy problems have been minor at best.
Good advice. I just ran over to HEB and picked up the generic Claritin-24 hour (lortadine). I hear Zyrtec and Allegra-D work really well. Do I need to go down to the health center to get a prescription for it, or is it OTC?
Prescription IIRC. It's been about 6 months since I've been to the doc to get Allegra. Then you had to have a prescription.
I was in Houston, where my allergies were good, under control. Then I went to Austin for the Kansas State game in September, my allergies exploded! It was like night and day. I couldn't see. My eyes were itchy and watery the whole time. Then, after arriving back in Houston, my allergies went back to normal. That's a tough city to live in. Don't know how I did it for 3 1/2 years.
There is a product called Simply Saline. I have been using it for 3 years now and have not suffered any allergy problems since.
I went to an allergy clinic last year and got tested for my allergies. The MD there who specializes in allergies told me that Zyrtec was the best, hands down, and I've been on it ever since. It's been the best year of my life, breathing-wise. I spent my entire life up to that point not going a week without being congested. Now I rarely sniffle or sneeze. Zyrtec is the way to go...and luckily for allergy sufferers without good insurance, it's over the counter now. I bought a 45-count (1 a day) bottle yesterday at target for $27, about the same as I was paying for a month when I had a script. You can get a two-week supply for around $15. I highly recommend that anyone who has allergies try it out.
I have tried Claritin, Allegra, and Zyrtec. Claritin is by far the least effective for me. I have had much better luck with Allegra and Zyrtec (my current choice). I also take Singular, which seems to help as well.
Mountain Cedar/Juniper always gets me the same way, Baqui99. However, I've only had one or two days in the last year where I felt it here in North Texas. Most recently, there was a day a week or two ago when levels were really high. However, if levels are medium, then I don't feel it. Austin is only showing a 5.4 medium for pollen levels today (at http://www.pollen.com). If your allergies are still bothering you, then it's not even considered a bad day so you must have it bad. However, tomorrow and Saturday show high levels in Austin so prepare to suffer if the predictions hold true. Their saying Thursday - Saturday are going to be bad (high) here in North Texas but it's a combination of Cedar/Juniper and Elm. Let's hope the Elm wins out because I'm not affected by that like I am Cedar/Juniper. The itchy eyes are the worst and my nose runs like a faucet when I'm impacted. Then, I end up with this terrible headache from all the congestion.
If the city would do the ecologically responsible thing & cut down all the non-mature cedars, probably 70% of the total trees, this problem would be lessened.
Well, here's the cedar count for today: 4,710. Anything over 1,500 is considered very high. Last Monday it was over 12,000. And the forecast: I'll be popping pills for the rest of the week. Wish the city would chop down the excess cedar trees.
