Red eyes? Sneezing, coughing, ears itchi
ng? Tired, can’t stay awake, ADD medication doesn’t help?
Fall allergy season is fast approaching in Washington Metro DC, just in time for the fall ACT, SAT, and PSAT. Nasty allergens will make my students and me miserable. September is typically ragweed season, bringing with it runny noses, itchy throats, and fatigue. Typically people take medication that makes them drowsy or foggy headed; this is not a great recipe for test taking success.
With a week’s advance action, however, sufferers can relieve their symptoms without side effects; now is the time for allergy sufferers to prepare for the assault.
Two easy actions make the world of difference.
- Saline rinse of nasal passages 1 to 2 times a day during allergy season – for example, NeilMed Sinus Rinse
- Cromolyn sodium spray ( Nasalcrom) 4 times a day. Start one week before anticipated need.
Cromolyn sodium is a mast cell stabilizer discovered by Roger Altounyan in the 1960s and marketed as a generic and as the brand named product. You can buy Nasalcrom, over-the-counter. A spray bottle last almost a month and cost around $15. Normally allergens attack the mast cells and cause the cell membrane to rupture releasing histamines and causing the various symptoms we know so well. According to the product literature Nasalcrom works by stabilizing the mast cells.
So why is Nasalcrom hidden on the bottom shelf with products that sell poorly? I suspect for two reasons: you need to use cromolyn sodium for one-two weeks before it fully works (although I notice a difference in a few days) and you need to use it four times a day (although I forget doses and still find it helps). When I ask a doctor why more doctors don’t recommend it, he said most patients want immediate relief and don’t want to use something that requires dosing four times a day. But when you consider it really works well and it has zero side effects what do you have to lose.
To maximize the sprays effectiveness use after a saline rinse or after clearing your nose thoroughly.
Ask your pharmacist or doctor. Hope this helps you in your time of need.