Whew! Allergy season is upon us!

[Aristus]

I'm prescribing loratadine like it's going out of style!. It's going to be a busy late Spring...

[Kali]

1. that is what I use, but it is OTC

why prescribe?

[Aristus]

2. Some of my patients can't afford the OTC.

But if they have insurance, they'll get it for free. All three patients I have prescribed for so far this morning also have asthma, so it's important to control the allergy symptoms.

[Kali]

3. really? I didn't think that could happen

my PC has told me something was OTC so she didn't prescribe (and that was when I had insurance, too), so I just assumed it couldn't be done. hmmm

so technically you could prescribe aspirin or acetaminophen?

[Aristus]

4. I prescribe them all the time.

Acetaminophen comes in prescription strength. So does aspirin (325mg). Often-times a prescription is simply a matter of record keeping. I may 'prescribe' a daily 81mg aspirin for a patient with high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, or congestive heart failure. He can pick it up OTC, but his chart will reflect that it is a prescribed part of his treatment regimen.

[Kali]

5. OK yeah, but I am talking about where insurance pays for it.

[Aristus]

6. If they pay for my patients' medications, I don't ask questions.

n/t

[hobbit709]

7. Around here I can get generic loratidine 100 for $12.86.

[Aristus]

8. That's about right.

There are pharmacies around here that offer it for $4 for a month's supply, $10 for a 90-day supply.

[In_The_Wind]

9. My nose is stuffy.

[Aristus]

10. One potential cause of this condition,

is either not enough sex, or sex that is inadequate...

[In_The_Wind]

11. Care to explain the second possible problem.

[elleng]

12. OH THANK YOU, Aristus!

A nice and surprising break from your informative earlier posts!!!

[In_The_Wind]

15. Right. How could I be Doing It Wrong after all of these years of practice.

[Aristus]

19. I do what I can...

[bigwillq]

13. I take an OTC loratadine every day, 10 mg

And my allergies are still so bad.
Anything else I should be doing/taking?

[Aristus]

14. Have you tried any other allergy medications?

Loratadine is my go-to medication because it's non-drowsy. but maybe you need something else. And have you consulted an allergy specialist?

[bigwillq]

17. Where do I begin

Long story short:
Had reactions to a nectarine in the summer and peanut butter in the fall.
But Work schedule prevented me from going to see a doctor at the time.
Around December, it seemed like I was having reactions to everything and I was getting like hives/rashes and itchiness.

That's when I went to allergist and got the pin prick tests done.
They told me I wasn't allergic to anything besides pollen, dust, dust mites, grass, which most people are allergic too.
He then thought I had some kind of rosacea eczema.
He put me on prednisone, which I hated, but it did clear up some of the rash/hives/whatever they were.

Then I went to a dermatologist.
He treated me for some gross things but the treatment didn't really seem to help too much.
They finally did a biopsy on one of the spots but it didn't reveal anything.
They said my skin was having a hypersensitive reaction to something but they didn't know what.

So I take the loratadine.
I still have reactions and get itchy but not like it was a few months ago.
Lately, my nose has been runny, then stuffy, then sneezing, and my eyes get all red and itchy.

I am convinced it is something at work: mold, mites, something.
I tend to get itchy when I am at work more so than any other place.
But no one can really tell me for sure what I have.

Any help, suggestions?

on edit: I did all of the change the laundry detergent, dryer sheets, bought a new mattress, new sheets, pillows, stopped wearing cologne, used dye-free shampoo, etc.

[Aristus]

18. I'm not an allergy specialist, so you may want to ask your allergist.

Ask about desensitization. I understand that slow, gradual acclimation of the body to the irritant can decrease your body's immune reaction to it. More than that, I'm not sure about. I don't want to give you misinformation.

[bigwillq]

20. Ok. Thanks for the help!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

21. Allergy meds lose their effectiveness on me after a while, so I switch between

loratidine, whatever the chemical name of Allegra is, and whatever the chemical name of ZyrTec is. However, I use the store brands (Walgreens, Target) of all of them.

[bigwillq]

22. Ok. I'll try that.

Thanks. I use store brand loratadine. I just need something that won't make me drowsy during the day.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. These are all non-drowsy

The only widely available drowsy allergy medicine these days is Benadryl and its generic equivalents, although you can sometimes find Chlor-Trimeton.

Another option for purely respiratory allergies (as a supplement to oral meds on really bad days) is the spray NasalCrom.

[LancetChick]

24. If nothing works, you can try acupuncture.

Acupuncture is expensive, though, and not usually covered by insurance. The first time I had acupuncture was to see if I could tame my severe gag reflex during dental appointments so that I wouldn't need to take Halcion, which is a drug that pretty much wipes out the whole day. Acupuncture fixed my gag reflex for most of the day, made me feel so relaxed I felt almost drugged, stopped my allergies for about a week, including rhinitis (I couldn't believe I could exercise without a runny nose), cleared up my rosacea (this was temporary) and replaced it with radiant skin, and sent my libido over the top for about a week. I haven't had such a dramatic reaction since, but it's still very effective.

Just for allergies, probably not worth it, but, as I said, if nothing else works, it's a thought.

[LadyHawkAZ]

16. It's been a bad, bad, bad week for it here

I'm having serious thoughts of going in and getting a prescription myself- something really lit up my sinuses this week and I've been high as a kite on OTC meds for days. I can't remember having an attack this bad, ever. Bleah.

[Jeff R]

25. Nationwide.

Been hearing on the news and from other folks I stay in touch with this is one of the worst allergy seasons on record.

Don't know how true that is but, it seems pretty bad this year.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

26. Tucson is getting hit to.

And here I thought I was getting away from all the heavy pollen.