What Is the Best Allergy Medicine?

If you've experienced seasonal allergies, you are familiar with the agony of itchy eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat, or allergic cough. These symptoms can be obnoxious and detract from your quality of life. Treating allergies with medications can help. However, it's essential to understand how allergy medicines work and their potential side effects. Read on to learn more about the best allergy medicine.

What is the best allergy medicine? List of the most common allergy medications

Which allergy medicine works best? The best medicine for allergies depends on your specific symptoms and the duration of your condition.

When to use allergy meds

What allergy medicine is best, and when should you use it? The answer depends on your personal medical history. If you are a known sufferer of seasonal allergies, experts recommend beginning an anti-allergy regimen a couple of weeks before allergy season starts to prevent the development of symptoms. If you suffer from occasional allergies, you should use medications to help control symptoms as they occur.

Types of anti-allergy medications

There are several different types of best allergy medicine for adults, each with its own rationale. The best daily allergy medicine, for example, is not necessarily the most strong allergy medicine of all. To find a good allergy medicine for you, consider your symptoms.

Type 1: Antihistamines

An antihistamine is a medicine that helps with allergic symptoms by preventing the release of a protein known as histamine from the body's mast cells. Histamine promotes allergic symptoms such as itchiness so that an antihistamine can block its effects. Antihistamines are available in pill form, nasal spray, and eye drops. Examples of antihistamine brands include:

• Claritin
• Allegra
• Zyrtec
• Benadryl
• Astepro
• Pataday

Type 2: Corticosteroids

A corticosteroid helps with allergic symptoms by dampening your immune system's response to a foreign substance (in this case, an allergen). Corticosteroids for allergies are available in pill or spray form. Examples of corticosteroid brands include:

• Flonase
• Rhinocort
• Prednisone

Type 3: Decongestants

A decongestant helps with allergic symptoms by reducing the amount of inflammation and fluid within the nasal passageways by constricting blood vessels. This can take effect quickly, but it can be dangerous for people with high blood pressure or heart problems. Decongestants are available in pill or spray form. Examples of decongestant brands include:

• Sudafed
• Afrin

What is the best over-the-counter allergy medicine?

The best OTC allergy medicine is not always the strongest over-the-counter allergy medicine. This is because allergy medications often work best when they can be taken over a long time to prevent symptoms and keep allergies under control for long periods. The strongest over-the-counter allergy medications, such as decongestants, may provide quick relief. However, they are not recommended for daily use.

What is the strongest allergy medicine?

The strongest allergy medicine may be the medicine that controls your symptoms best. For some people, that may be a decongestant medication that takes effect quickly and helps prevent symptoms fast. However, for others, the strongest allergy medicine may be a medicine that they can take every day that helps control the development of their allergy symptoms in the first place.

How fast do the most effective allergy medicines work?

The fastest-acting allergy medicines, such as nasal decongestants like Afrin and nasal antihistamines like Astepro, take effect within 10 to 15 minutes of application. Oral antihistamines take a little longer to effect fully, about one to two hours. Other medications meant for longer-term use, such as nasal steroids, can take a few days to weeks to start working.

How often can you take allergy medicine?

It's essential to monitor how frequently you take allergy medications. Some oral antihistamines, such as Claritin and Allegra, are safe to take daily, as are nasal steroid sprays. However, other drugs, such as decongestants, should only be taken as needed. Check with your clinician and consult medication instructions to ensure you take any medication safely.

Natural remedies for allergies

Beyond over-the-counter and prescription medications, natural allergy remedies can also relieve obnoxious symptoms. These natural methods include:

• Nasal rinses
• Saline sprays
• Air purifiers
• Avoidance of triggers
• Probiotics

What to take for allergies? Choosing the best medicine for your allergy

The best allergy relief medicine for you depends on your medical history and specific symptoms. Some guidelines to follow when trying to choose a medicine include:

• Tip 1: Evaluate the timing of when your symptoms occur and consider whether or not you can control them before they start (e.g., is it always a particular time of year or in a specific environment?).
• Tip 2: Evaluate your most prominent symptom and target it first (e.g., if your symptoms are generally confined to your nose, consider using a nasal spray to target symptoms locally).
• Tip 3: Check in with an allergist for insight into what's causing your allergies. An allergist could recommend a skin prick allergy testing panel or immunotherapy with allergy shots.

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FAQs related to best allergy meds

What is the best allergy medicine for a runny nose?

A nasal spray is the best allergy medicine for a runny nose. For immediate relief, try a nasal decongestant such as Afrin. However, do not use it for more than 3-5 days. A nasal antihistamine or nasal steroid can provide the most long-lasting relief.

What is the best severe allergy medicine?

Consult with your clinician for severe allergies. A combination of medications within different medication categories can help you achieve the most symptomatic relief. If this isn't helping enough or you are experiencing too many side effects, consider a course of allergy shots.

What is the best runny nose and sneezing medicine?

Try an oral antihistamine combined with a nasal steroid spray for a runny nose and sneezing. If you know you will be coming into contact with an allergen, it's best to start this regimen ahead of time to reduce the development of symptoms.

What are the best allergy pills?

Several medication classes may produce the best allergy pills for stuffy noses or other allergic symptoms, including antihistamines, decongestants, and mast cell stabilizers. In pill form, these medications can help with symptoms that occur in multiple places, such as the eyes, throat, and nose.

What is the best generic allergy medicine?

The best generic allergy medicine is the one that provides you with the most relief. This can vary from person to person, and even from one allergy season to another. If you find that one allergy medicine helps control your symptoms better than another, that's what you should use.

What is the strongest over-the-counter antihistamine?

Experts haven't identified the strongest over-the-counter antihistamine. However, first-generation antihistamines, such as Benadryl, tend to have more systemic side effects, such as drowsiness. Individuals vary on which antihistamine works best for them, so if one seems more effective for you than another, that's the one you should use.

What is the best seasonal allergy medicine?

The best seasonal allergy medicine depends on your symptoms. Try an oral antihistamine if a systemic medicine is needed to help control a host of symptoms, including itchy eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat, and cough. A steroid spray may be the best allergy relief medicine if your symptoms are limited to nasal congestion and runny nose.

What is the best medicine for itchy throat?

An antihistamine medication is often the best defense against an itchy throat. Antihistamines can help dampen the body's response to allergens by limiting histamine release from mast cells. This reduces the amount of histamine protein circulating in the blood, which can reduce itchiness.

What's the best allergy medicine for itchy skin?

The best allergy medicine for itchy skin is likely an antihistamine. Itchiness is often caused by the release of histamine, a protein released by the mast cells in response to an allergen. It's best to take an antihistamine before encountering a known allergen to prevent the itchiness cycle.

What's the best allergy medicine for pollen?

To counteract your body's response to pollen, you may want to consider determining the start of allergy season in advance. High pollen counts fluctuate in communities by time of year, so knowing when to expect allergy season to start can help you get ahead of your symptoms and start taking an antihistamine medication in advance.

What is the best medicine for allergy cough?

An allergy cough may be improved by taking an oral antihistamine medication. If you know you have seasonal allergies, you can reduce your chance of developing an allergic cough by starting a daily antihistamine before allergy season.

What is the best allergy medicine for sore throat?

An oral antihistamine can be more effective than other medications for treating a sore throat caused by inflammation and irritation. Additionally, an anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen can help with sore throat and safely be combined with an antihistamine.

Which allergy medicine is best if you have a heart disease or high blood pressure?

If you have heart disease or high blood pressure, it's important to stick to an allergy medication that does not contain decongestants. Safe medications include oral antihistamines such as loratadine or fexofenadine. Make sure not to take the formulation of these medications with a "D" added to the name, as this indicates the presence of a decongestant.

Can you take two types of allergy pills together?

Yes, you may take two types of allergy pills together. Some allergy pills are sold in combination form. For example, oral antihistamines are often combined with oral decongestants and denoted with a "D," such as Claritin-D. However, it's important not to combine medications beyond the directions, as taking too much of either medication can be dangerous.

What allergy medicine is safest for kids?

Because many allergy medications have a side effect profile, it's essential to consider how to provide the best possible relief for kids without unwanted effects. A local agent, such as a nasal spray, is often the safest option. Experts also believe nasal sprays may be more effective.

What is emergency allergy medicine?

Emergency allergy medicine is used in cases of anaphylaxis, a severe response to an allergen that can cause throat swelling, shock, and even death. In the case of an emergent allergic reaction, clinicians use epinephrine, which is available by prescription in Epi-Pen form.

References:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/allergies/in-depth/allergy-medications/art-20047403

https://www.cdc.gov/climate-health/php/effects/allergens-and-pollen.html?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/allergen.htm

https://acaai.org/allergies/allergies-101/facts-stats/

https://acaai.org/allergies/

https://acaai.org/allergies/management-treatment/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538188/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542161/