As I've talked about in this forum before, I have some unidentified allergy that causes hayfever type symptoms and sometimes asthma. The only trigger I'm certain of is wine and so I avoid that. Other than that I've all but given up trying to find the cause assuming it's something unavoidable!
My question is, can I take antihistamines every day or are these going to have some long term negative effect on my health?
I've tried coming off them and my symptoms return within 24-48 hours and I can't live my life with a permanent cold!!
Does anybody know of any concerns over antihistamines or know of any effective alternatives?
J x
Are you taking any prescribed medication ?
Hi JoJo
No, my doctor originally prescribed me cetrizine hydrochloride but these are just the same as you can buy over the counter so that's what I do.
Jx
Hi
I think as far as they know, antihistamines are pretty safe to take long-term, from the point of view that they wont cause any major damage. Talk to your gp or nhs direct if you are worried, but assuming you dont have any side effects from the medication then they should agree that it is OK for you to continue taking them.
Having said that, I remember finding a list of medications somewhere on the internet that can contribute to a difficulty in losing weight - and antihistamines are one of these (among many though!)
It may be worth seeing your gp to tell him your concerns - there are other things he can prescribe for allergies such as nasal sprays and eye drops which act more locally on the problem.
Thanks Clairey Bear
I'm not experienceing any side effects from them and feel really well all the time I take them.
I've tried nasal sprays before but found they made my nasal passages a bit sore after a while. Also they are steroids, albeit mind ones, so I'm not keen on using them long term.
I'll do what you said and talk to the GP to get some reassurance that what I am doing is ok. Might also look at homeopathy but thought for that I may need to know the cause what with homeopathy being a 'like treats like' system....
Thanks again for your thoughts.;)
Jx
Hi Jupiter, sorry I mean any other prescribed medication, I was told I could take cetirizine long term for Chronic Urticaria. It turned out to be my blood pressure tablets (Ramipril) that were causing the allergies, I had been taking these for over 5 years. I have since changed my BP tabs and have been Urticaria free, since May.
Best wishes x
Oops sorry JoJo! No, the only other medication I have prescribed is the contraceptive pill and have taken that for years with no problems.
J x
Hi Jupiter
Regarding your antihistamines, personally I would be cautious about using them long term. Any drug (which after all, is what it is) put into the body over a period of time, probably has a significant effect, because it's unnatural and 'forcing' the body to behave in a way that it normally wouldn't.
According to my literature, it warns against taking cetrizine if you have liver or kidney problems, which tells us that it does affect the functioning of those organs. The other aspect is that we constantly hear of drugs being withdrawn, because of problems coming to light, that we weren't aware of previously.
On a more hopeful note, you absolutely don't need to know the cause of your symptoms, to benefit from homeopathy, and it does have a good track record for the treatment of allergies etc.
HTH Hom
Oops sorry JoJo! No, the only other medication I have prescribed is the contraceptive pill and have taken that for years with no problems.
J x
Oh that's ok, it was my fault, I have a habit of not explaining myself properly, hope you sort it out soon x
Hello,
I would suggest trying a technique called EFT (google Gary Craig and EFT). It works on everything and would recommend it over taking antihistimines any day, as it gets to the cause of things rather than just putting a proverbial 'plaster' over it.
Best wishes.
Have you tried elderflower tincture or echinacea? Both might be suitable herbal alternatives, but allergies can be quite complex so you should really see a herbalist.
Thanks Herbal D....that's interesting that you say that. A few days after I wrote my original post, I started taking Echinacea and Zinc to boost my immunity for the winter to try and avoid all the coughs and colds that go around. I've notice since then that although my allergies are still around they are milder and I'm not getting wheezy like I used to. In fact the wheeziness has improved to the point that I'm not using any asthma treatment at the moment!
So I guess my immunity has improved and with a bit of luck the allergies should continue to improve.
Thanks again.
J x
You could try honey I heard once it can help but buy it from a locally sourced supplier
There is no evidence that suggests that long term use of antihistamines will do any harm if used at the recommended dosage.
If you're interested "quercetin" is a natural alternative that may be used alongside or on its own for allergies!