Allergy Relief!

It's finally spring in Chicago and that means allergy season is here!!

Nationwide, allergies affect more than 50 million Americans and cause an estimated 3.6 million workdays to be lost each year. In addition, 2 million school days per year are lost due to allergies. It is Important for consumers to treat allergies and not just “live” with them. 

Typical allergy symptoms include sneezing, itchy, watery eyes and a runny nose.

Pollen levels in Chicago have been bothersome. The predominant pollens right now are from birch, maple and poplar trees.

In Chicago, tree pollen is particularly bad this time of year; flowers (an allergy myth) are unlikely to trigger allergy symptoms as flower pollen is heavy, waxy and sticky and unlikely to become airborne

Indoor allergy triggers include dust mites, animal dander, mold, cockroach droppings

Currently, the pollen count for the area around campus is predicted to be 9.8 by Sunday (5/4). Pollen levels between 8.1 and 12.0 tend to affect most individuals who suffer from the pollen types of the season. Symptoms may become more severe during days with high pollen levels.

Beating Allergies in the Windy City

• Monitor pollen counts (www.pollen.com) – highest pollen conditions occur on dry, windy days

• When pollen counts are high:

• Stay indoors if possible, pollen counts are the highest between 5am-10am
• Don’t line dry clothes or air out rugs outside, etc. You will just bring the pollen into your house
• Keep the windows closed in the house; use air-conditioning, change the filters frequently
• If driving, keep the windows closed and use the air-conditioner set to re-circulate air rather than bring in fresh air from the outside
• If you spend time outdoors on high pollen days, take a shower, wash your hair and change your clothes when you get home to get rid of any pollen that may have built up on you or your hair or clothes; have children change their clothes when they come in from playing outside

• Nonprescription (OTC) medications are available to treat allergies but there are differences between them

• Talk to your pharmacist about OTC allergy medications – new options are available OTC
• Triamcinolone (Nasacort Allergy 24 hour) was recently switched from prescription to OTC status
• It is the first topical steroid available over the counter
• Will relieve the symptoms of runny nose, sneezing, nasal itching and stuffy nose; considered to be the first line treatment for allergic rhinitis by the Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology according to the report of the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters in Allergy
• Advantages:
• No risk of sedation or drug-drug interactions
• Long duration of action allowing for once daily dosing
• If no relief of symptoms after one week, see primary care provider
• Patients who should NOT use Nasacort Allergy 24 HR before talking to their pharmacist or health care provider include:
• Patients with recent nasal ulcers, nasal surgery or unhealed nasal injuries
• Patients using an asthma medicine or prescription steroid medicine
• Patients who currently have an eye infection, glaucoma or cataracts
• When using Nasacort Allergy 24 HR, keep in mind the following points:
• Nasacort should be used once daily regularly without missing a dose
• May take up to 1 week to provide full benefit and symptom relief; most people will have some improvement on the first day
• Use in children:
• There is the potential for a slowed growth rate in children and it is important to talk to the child’s doctor if the child needs to use the spray for more than 2 months in a year
• A non-sedating antihistamine like Claritin or Allegra is a good option for most people including children over the age of 2.  Relief from allergy symptoms begins within around an hour. 
• If you also suffer from a stuffy nose, Claritin D or Allegra D may be a good choice.  Keep in mind that these products are OTC but are kept behind the pharmacy counter so you will need to ask for them.
• Before getting behind the wheel, allergy sufferers need to carefully read labels on OTC medicines for precautions such as ‘marked drowsiness may occur’ and ‘be careful when driving a motor vehicle’ and heed those warnings

Getting the most from your nonprescription allergy medicines

• Read the label, be sure you are not taking multiple products (Rx or OTC) containing the same ingredient (for example, some allergy products and some products for insomnia contain the exact same active ingredient (diphenhydramine); by taking them together, you are double dosing and can have side effects)

• Follow the directions. Don’t skip doses

• If you have questions, ask your UIC pharmacist! Don't suffer this allergy season, we can help!

 Submitted by:

Jan Engle, Pharm.D., Ph.D. (Hon), FAPhA, FNAP

Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacy Practice

Executive Associate Dean

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL

Past President, American Pharmacists Association, Washington DC