Discovery Health :: Finding the Right Allergy Medications

Allergy Medicines

Finding the Right Allergy Medications (cont'd)

Bronchodilators
These medications, used to treat asthma, come in a variety of forms: inhalers, tablets, capsules, liquids and injections. They open up the airways by relaxing the muscles surrounding bronchial tubes and reduce symptoms such as wheezing and shortness of breath. Long-term use of systemic, or pill-form, bronchodilators, can have significant side-effects. Inhaled bronchodilators have fewer long-term risks.

Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy, also known as allergy shots, helps your body build immunity to the substances that provoke allergies. The shots you receive will be "custom-made" to fight the allergens that affect you. Most people get weekly shots for a few months. Treatment is then spaced out to every two weeks and eventually, once a month. See Should You Consider Allergy Shots?

Vitamin C
A 1990 study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology found that two grams of vitamin C daily benefited patients with allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. Study participants who took the vitamin had significantly greater lung capacity an hour later compared to those who were given a placebo. Vitamin C, perhaps the most studied vitamin of all, is a natural antihistamine and may help reduce inflammation in the airways.

Homeopathy
A University of Glasgow study published in the Lancet found that people with hay fever who were treated with homeopathic preparations of grass pollens showed significant reductions in symptoms, and their need for antihistamines was halved. Homeopathy is a school of medicine based on the theory that large doses of drugs that produce symptoms will cure the same symptoms when administered in small doses.

The most user-friendly homeopathic remedies are combination formulas, which contain several medicines mixed together and are labeled for general conditions such as allergies, says Dana Ullman, M.P.H., author of "Homeopathy A to Z". You should know by the next day if what you're taking will help your symptoms. Some people may need customized preparations from a professional homeopathist, he says.

Garlic
Garlic, onions and green apples contain the compound quercetin, which can help slow inflammatory reactions, says James A. Duke, author of "The Green Pharmacy." He recommends adding them liberally to your food if you suffer from allergies. If you want to spare your breath, take 400 mg of quercetin tables twice a day instead.

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