super allergies

[Chicken]

^ that's that stuff endorsed by oprah, right?

which is better? sinus rinse or neti pot?

[blm14]

I use neti pot, very easy to use. Never tried the other ones.

[I<3Bacon]

can't stand spring time cause my allergies are so fawking bad. i usually just take a bunch of bennys and a nap. might give that nasal rinse a try. does it feel wierd? i would imagine so.

It's pretty reminiscent of that feeling you get when your sinuses get flooded by water when you're swimming. Not particularly pleasant, but you get used to it after a while... especially if the flush is effective for you.

[landho]

Neti pot is classic, what they use in India I think. Sinus Rinse is based on Neti-pot principles but is better in my opinion, as the dosage is regular. My friends use the neti pot, however, and are happy with it. It's more "old school."

It's pretty reminiscent of that feeling you get when your sinuses get flooded by water when you're swimming. Not particularly pleasant' date=' but you get used to it after a while... especially if the flush is effective for you.[/quote']

Not exactly; when you go swimming, you're either swimming in a pool where the water is chlorinated, or in the ocean, where the salt concentration is variable, or in freshwater, where there is no salt at all. In all three cases the water burns your sinus passages. The sensation from shooting Sinus Rinse solution up your nose isn't unpleasant, it's just unusual. But it definitely doesn't burn, assuming you use the normally suggested dosages (i.e., one packet to one bottle).

[Chicken]

Sinus Rinse isn't steroids; it's just a baking-soda-and-sodium solution that you mix with lukewarm water. The packets of solution are measured out in individual doses; you fill the squeeze bottle that's included with lukewarm distilled water (I've gotten lazy, so I just use tapwater, which has still worked) and then you shake it up. You squeeze the solution into one nostril and then all kinds of crap comes out the other nostril. You blow some more of that junk out, and then you repeat until the solution in the bottle is gone. You can do it more than once consecutively, too, if you're really stopped up.

I think the sodium in the solution causes the blood vessels in your nose to expand, allowing you to breathe more easily. I'm not exactly what the rationale is, though, but I definitely breathe more easily for the next few hours after I've done a rinse.

There are no steroids involved; this isn't medication. It's just a way of cleaning out a lot of that junk that gets caught up in your sinuses. I live in the middle of the intersection of several allergy belts (molds, cedar, pollen), so my allergies act up a lot. I was always fatigued and my nose always felt stopped up. I don't want to call Sinus Rinse a miracle worker, but I've been using it about three or four times a day (usually once when I get up in the morning, once at work, once when I get home from work, and once before bed) and it's been awesome.

The main thing to keep in mind is that this will not cure your allergies; it will just alleviate your sinus pressure and help clear out the junk up in there.

The original package costs about $13 or so and comes with a bottle and 50 packets of solution. Solution refills are $13 each and come with 100 packets. It should be available at your local Walgreens or CVS.

It will feel weird the first time you try it, because you're shooting shit up your nose and having it come out the other nostril, but you'll get used to it pretty fast. I bought this for my brother, my sister, and several friends. I've been using it for more than a year now.

hey, so i've been using this sinus rinse thing. it felt quite awkward at first, like i'm drowning or something. but it seems to be helping me sleep better, at the very least. i'll keep trying and let you know. thanks for the recommendation.

[landho]

hey, so i've been using this sinus rinse thing. it felt quite awkward at first, like i'm drowning or something. but it seems to be helping me sleep better, at the very least. i'll keep trying and let you know. thanks for the recommendation.

Weird, I was just checking up on this thread.

Allergy season began in Austin in earnest (we're in the middle of cypress, pollen, and mold belts!), and it seems as Sinus Rinse is the only thing keeping me sane.

It definitely felt weird for me at first--I kept expecting it to burn (because that was my experience with swimming pools and the beach), but it didn't. For me, the best part of the rinse is right after the solution finishes pouring out of your sinuses and you get to blow whatever junk is up in there that got loosened out.

I would recommend that, whenever your allergies are bothering you, you do a rinse in the morning when you get up and at night before you go to bed. I used to have mad trouble sleeping at night because I couldn't breathe right (switching sides to alternate which nostril gets congested--I'm sure you know what I'm talking about), but this helps a ton. Of course, if you ever feel congested during the day, I'd go ahead and rinse during the middle of the day, too. This may sound like compulsive behavior, but it sure beats the hell out of not being able to breathe properly. I keep a bottle for the office, too.

I'm glad to hear that it's been helpful so far, though.

[Chicken]

the best part of the rinse is right after the solution finishes pouring out of your sinuses and you get to blow whatever junk is up in there that got loosened out.

gross but so true! it's very satisfying.

when things got really bad (like getting blocked like you mentioned), i've resorted to steroidal sprays (maybe twice so far). but rinsing seems to be helping me on a daily basis. next time, i'll try multiple times a day.

[landho]

gross but so true! it's very satisfying.

when things got really bad (like getting blocked like you mentioned), i've resorted to steroidal sprays (maybe twice so far). but rinsing seems to be helping me on a daily basis. next time, i'll try multiple times a day.

Ha ha--yeah, I've had to clean my sink on a more regular basis. Shit looks like a battlefield from Aliens if I let it sit there too long.

I use a steroid spray when things get too hectic, but you aren't supposed to use it for more than a few days at a time (otherwise, your body will build up a tolerance for it that you'll have to work off by withdrawal).

I had terrible allergy problems for years and looked around for something to alleviate them. I'm happy to be able to pass my experiences along.

[jordanelias]

For those with seasonal allergies (like snow mold, the best seasonal allergy):

Cortisone steroids. Get a prescription from your doctor for a combination like Nasonex and Advair.

I used to cough incessantly when outside until late June, but after I started this regime of medication a few years ago, it has not happened.

Of course, I play soccer constantly, so I may need more X-treme medication than some to cope with being outside.

[blm14]

Cortisone is REALLY bad to be taking long-term though. If you can use saline solution to avoid many of the problems, why take expensive prescribed pharmaceuticals that all have (usually unfun) side-effects?

I use my neti pot twice a day and because of that I haven't had to take any allergy meds for years except during the two-week period in fall and spring when certain weeds bloom in the northeast. And even then one loratadine will do whereas before neti pot I would have to take so much benadryl that I would sleep for a whole day in order to make the sneezing stop.

[ilovefriedchicken]

i used to use benadryl it was pretty good

last week i visited an acupuncturist and he put a bunch of needles in me and those heated cups on my back. now no more allergies

[jordanelias]

Cortisone is REALLY bad to be taking long-term though. If you can use saline solution to avoid many of the problems, why take expensive prescribed pharmaceuticals that all have (usually unfun) side-effects?

I use my neti pot twice a day and because of that I haven't had to take any allergy meds for years except during the two-week period in fall and spring when certain weeds bloom in the northeast. And even then one loratadine will do whereas before neti pot I would have to take so much benadryl that I would sleep for a whole day in order to make the sneezing stop.

Because I take it for two months a year, have never had a side effect and have insurance?

Saline solution doesn't avoid many of my problems. It's not enough when you're running around outside for 90 minutes inhaling shit.

I had never even heard of neti pots until this thread.

[blm14]

try the neti pot, my friend. Trust me

[Chicken]

and as ridiculous as they might look, allergy masks (aka sars masks) really help.

you can even get cuter ones, if you prefer.

[CBM]

bump.

so, ten weeks into the allergy needles and everything was goin' swell. barely ever had to blow my nose, and didn't even feel congested. then, today, i got my shot and went home. my throat went all weird, and i broke out in the rash all over my torso. went back to the doctor, he injected me with phenergan and then called an ambulance. had to stay in hospital for a couple of hours, but it is all good now. was pretty scary. hopefully, i can keep doing these needles and this doesn't happen again.

[Chicken]

^ wow, that's pretty extreme man. all i've ever got was a swollen arms.

[evisu 2000]

i used to have allergies from april-august but since moving to montreal they are gone!!1!

[mr fluffernutter]

fucking victoria is fuckng allergy central for me. i sneeze a bajillion times a day

[evisu 2000]

fucking victoria is fuckng allergy central for me. i sneeze a bajillion times a day

yeah me too, well not victoria but vancouver. also weird is, when i smoke cigarettes in vancouver i get nauseous. ???????

[dolly]

i got allergies for the first damn time this year. last night i used some visine allergy eye drops and they BURNNNNNNED. Painfully so, i had to flush out my eyes with water and a different type of eye drop to stop the horrible feeling

wtf

[Chicken]

^ when your eyes are burning, cooling them down with wet towel with or without ice pack really helps. even more so than eye drops, imo.

good luck. allergies suck.

[DüM]

what the fuck I can not stop sneezing.

[timber]

I'm allergic to dust and whatever is outside..

I need to replenish my stash of allergy pillz

[m1sterko]

tabby cats.

mold + dust .. but i live in a ghetto home.. so im used to it now. but other ppl arent..

[High Monika]

Dum: Nothing. Allergies are an ungodly curse and may prove that the Lord has forsaken us.

This year has me reconsidering getting allegy shots. Or at least that Chinese remedy someone mentioned earlier, what with the dead bugs and leaves. Nothing I have taken this year has helped. Quadruple does on Claritin? Double dose on Allegra then double on claritin? Nothing. Not even Nyquil helps.

[timber]

Apparently bee pollen actually works to build up your immune system against pollen allergies. Of course if you're allergic to bees, it's not very helpful...

[ProfMonnitoff]

ridiculous hayfever crew whats up