Does Claritin Help Allergic Asthma

Does Claritin Help With Asthma

4/5asthmaasthmamore on it

Antihistamines work well to prevent or relieve allergic symptoms in the eyes and nose. Unfortunately, they have little effect on asthmatic symptoms. It turns out that histamine is only one of many chemicals that can cause narrowing of the bronchial tubes, and antihistamines leave these other chemicals unopposed.

what is the best treatment for allergic asthma? There are many good asthma treatments, but most require a prescription. These medications include inhaled steroids, which fight inflammation, and bronchodilators, which open up your airways. If traditional treatments don’t help your allergic asthma, Xolair, an injectable medication that reduces IgE levels, may help.

Furthermore, which antihistamine is best for asthma?

Some popular OTC antihistamine medications include: Zyrtec. Claritin. Benadryl.If you are not able to get your allergy symptoms under control with an OTC antihistamine, your doctor may prescribe one of the following prescription antihistamines:

• Allegra.

What medications should be avoided with asthma?

Asthma

• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen and naproxen
• Beta-blockers, which are usually used for heart conditions, high blood pressure and migraines.

What Causes Allergy Symptoms

When you take a breath or rub your nose or eyes, allergens enter your body and your immune systemX immune system The bodys defense system that protects us against infections and foreign substances. triggers a hypersensitivity reaction. To get rid of the substance it thinks is harmful, your body undergoes various reactions and releases inflammatory mediators like histamineX histamine A naturally occurring substance that is released by the immune system after being exposed to an allergen. When you inhale an allergen, mast cells located in the nose and sinus membranes release histamine. Histamine then attaches to receptors on nearby blood vessels, causing them to enlarge .

When the histamine binds to receptors on other cells in your body, it causes you to experience allergyX allergy An exaggerated response of the immune system to a substance that is ordinarily harmless. symptoms, including runny nose, sneezing, itchy/watery eyes, itchy nose or throat, nasal congestion and sinus pressure.

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How Are Antihistamines Classified

Antihistamines are divided into two major subtypes. The first subtype is called H-1 receptor antagonists or H-1 blockers. This subtype of antihistamines is used to treat allergy symptoms. The second subtype is called H-2 receptor antagonists or H-2 blockers. They are used to treat gastrointestinal conditions, including gastroesophageal reflux disease , peptic ulcers, gastritis, motion sickness, nausea and vomiting. The naming structure tells doctors and scientists the cell type the location of the histamine receptor that the antihistamine medication blocks.

The H-1 blocker subtype is further broken down into two groups first-generation antihistamines and second-generation antihistamines.

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What Should Health Care Professionals Do

Health care professionals should consider the risks and benefits of montelukast when deciding to prescribe or continue patients on the medicine. Counsel all patients receiving montelukast about mental health side effects, and advise them to stop the medicine and contact a health care professional immediately if they develop any symptoms included but not limited to those listed in the table above. Be aware that some patients have reported neuropsychiatric events after discontinuation of montelukast.

Only prescribe montelukast for allergic rhinitis in patients who have an inadequate response or intolerance to alternative therapies.

How Do I Know Which Antihistamine To Take

Because there are so many antihistamine products, both over-the-counter and prescription, and because they are used to treat so many different conditions, you may need help figuring out which medication to take. For minor ailments, you can probably take over-the-counter products. You can read the package labeling and match your symptoms to the labeled symptoms. Also, never hesitate to ask the pharmacist. They are highly schooled in the actions and effects and side effects of drugs. You may need to try different antihistamines to find the best medication to manage your symptoms.

If you need a prescription antihistamine, you and your healthcare provider will work together to figure out what medication will be best for you. Many drugs interact with antihistamines, so your healthcare provider will want to know what medical conditions you have and medications you are currently taking. They will also want to know if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant or are breastfeeding. Some antihistamines are not recommended in pregnancy because they may cause birth defects in very high doses. Antihistamines can pass into breast milk, so you should consult with your healthcare provider before using antihistamines if you are breastfeeding.

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How Do Antihistamines Stop The Symptoms Of Allergies

If you have ever had seasonal allergies, you have probably taken antihistamines to feel better. Five out of every ten people deal with allergies of some kind. Allergens are the triggers for an allergic response. Allergens can be anything from the latex in gloves, to pollen, dust mites, animal dander, mold, insect stings, as well as ingredients in medications and in food.

The allergic response is caused by the protein, histamine the immune system makes and carries histamine in special lymphocytes called mast cells. Histamine is an inflammatory protein that causes blood to flow into the surrounding tissues of where the antigen is located. For instance, if you breathed in some dust particles and the immune system mistakes them for a pathogen, the tissues in your sinuses and nasal passages may begin to swell. You may start sneezing and your eyes might start watering this is caused by histamine.

To help reduce your allergy triggers, you need to reduce the amount of allergens that you are exposed to. A good way to do this is to keep your environment free of dust, dust mites, and mold. The spores of mold are airborne it is possible that you could breathe them into your lungs and have an allergic response. Dust mites live in the dust of your home they also live in your bed and bedding. A dust mite allergy can cause coughing, wheezing and sinus problems.

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What You Can Do To Keep Safe

• During spring and early summer, use a corticosteroid nasal spray . Start at the beginning of September and continue to the end of December.
• Keep taking your preventer medication as prescribed. If you don’t normally use a preventer all year, you should use it during September-December if you are going to be in an area where there is ryegrass pollen.
• Follow the pollen counts and weather forecasts during spring and summer so you know if a storm is coming.
• Make sure your written asthma action plan is up to date and includes thunderstorm advice – talk to your GP
• Avoid being outdoors just before and during thunderstorms, especially in cold wind gusts that come before the rain. Get inside a building or car with the windows shut and the air conditioner switched to recirculate/recycled.

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Do Antihistamines Cause Dementia

Long term use of some antihistamines may increase your risk of dementia. Diphenhydramine blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. This neurotransmitter is vital for memory and learning. Diphenhydramine increased the risk of dementia by 54% in one 3,000 patient study followed for seven years.

What About Antihistamines In Cold And Flu Medications

What many people may not know is that cold and flu medicines marketed to treat runny nose and sneezing usually include first-generation antihistamines the more sedating types. Thats because they are often better at treating cold symptoms and drying up runny nose than the newer types.

Because of their sedating effect, cold medicines with antihistamines are labeled for nighttime use. Take this labeling seriously, as some include medications like doxylamine that are more sedating than others. Check labels for dosages, as well, as these may vary, even within brands.

More is not better read labels carefully and take only as recommended. Dont supplement a multi-symptom cold medication with another single-ingredient antihistamine.

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How Is Allergic Rhinitis Treated In Children

Some corticosteroid nasal sprays can be used in children as young as 2 years.

Antihistamine tablets can be used for children with mild allergic rhinitis or young children who will not tolerate nasal sprays. Some can be taken by children as young as 12 months. Only newer antihistamines, which cause less sleepiness, should be given to children.

Montelukast tablets are effective for some children.

Your doctor may recommend other medicines.

Is Benadryl Or Claritin More Effective

While Benadryl and Claritin are similarly effective for treating allergy symptoms, Claritin has less sedating side effects. Claritin is often preferred over Benadryl for this reason.

According to guidelines developed by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and endorsed by the American Academy of Family Physicians , second-generation antihistamines are recommended to treat symptoms of allergic rhinitis such as sneezing and itching.

Other guidelines from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology suggest using a nasal steroid such as Flonase or Nasacort for allergic rhinitis before adding the use of an oral antihistamine.

Research from a literature review found that newer antihistamines such as loratadine are safer than first-generation antihistamines. The study also compared other second-generation antihistamines such as Zyrtec and Allegra . The study found that cetirizine or fexofenadine may be more effective than loratadine.

Choosing an antihistamine depends on your overall condition. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist to determine which treatment option may best for you.

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Who Can And Cannot Take Loratadine

Loratadine can be taken by adults and children aged 2 years and older.

Loratadine isn’t suitable for some people. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you:

• have had an allergy to loratadine or any other medicines in the past
• have severe liver failure
• have an intolerance to, or cannot absorb, some sugars such as lactose or sucrose
• have epilepsy or another illness that puts you at risk of fits
• have a rare illness called porphyria
• are booked to have an allergy test taking loratadine may affect the results so you might need to stop taking it a few days before the test

Mild And Serious Side Effects

Allegra and Claritin are considered newer antihistamines. One benefit of using a newer antihistamine is that theyre less likely to cause drowsiness than older antihistamines.

The other side effects of Allegra and Claritin are similar, but in most cases, people dont experience any side effects with either drug. That said, the following tables list examples of possible side effects of these drugs.

If you experience any serious side effects that may indicate an allergic reaction, get emergency medical treatment right away.

Two things you should consider when taking any medication is the possible drug interactions and potential problems related to health conditions you have. These are not all the same for Allegra and Claritin.

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How To Cope With Side Effects

What to do about:

• feeling sleepy try a different non-drowsy antihistamine. If this doesn’t help, talk to your doctor.
• headaches rest and drink plenty of fluids. Ask your pharmacist to recommend a painkiller. Headaches should normally go away after the first week of taking loratadine. Talk to your doctor if they last longer or are more severe.
• feeling tired or nervous talk to your doctor or pharmacist if these side effects don’t go away as they may be able to offer you a different antihistamine.

Wheezing Warnings On Nonprescription Products

Wheezing is defined as a high-pitched whistling sound thatis audible when the patient inhales and exhales, caused by air flowingthrough constricted airways.11 Wheezing is common withasthma, so much so that when the FDA requires labels to warn against usein asthma, the word wheezing must follow in parentheses.12

Despite the FDA requirement that asthma and wheezing beintertwined on some OTC product labels , wheezing is acomponent of many other medical problems. They include accidentalaspiration of a foreign object into the lungs, bronchiectasis,bronchiolitis, bronchitis, emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease ,gastroesophageal reflux, heart failure/cardiac asthma, an allergicreaction to an insect sting, reactions to medications ,pneumonia, smoking, or a viral infection, especially when the patient isan infant younger than 2 years of age.11 Since the communitypharmacist is not trained to perform the examination required toestablish a diagnosis, patients with wheezing must be referred.

As mentioned above, salicylates and other nonprescriptionnonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs contain a warning againstuse with wheezing, in the context of the constellation of symptoms thatindicate an allergic reaction to the medications. Cromolyn also carries alabel warning against use in wheezing.5 Cromolyn would be ineffective treatment for any one of the multiple causes of wheezing as listed above.

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How To Take And Store

Most antihistamines can be taken with or without food.

Second-generation antihistamines are typically taken in the morning. If your doctor prescribes both an antihistamine and a leukotriene modifier for allergic asthma, it’s common to take the antihistamine in the morning and the leukotriene modifier in the evening.

Storage recommendations vary by drug:

• Both Zyrtec and Xyzal should be stored at room temperature that’s ideally 68 to 77 degrees F, with excursions in temperatures ranging from 59 to 86 degrees F.
• Claritin should be stored in a cool, dry place that’s ideally between 36 and 77 degrees F. Clarinex should be kept at 77 degrees F, with excursions that can range from from 59 to 86 degrees and should be protected from excessive heat or light.
• Benadryl should be stored at room temperature that’s ideally 68 to 77 degrees F.

Is Allegra Or Claritin More Effective

Allegra and Claritin are both effective at relieving symptoms of allergic rhinitis compared to using no medication at all. However, Claritin has been shown to provide more overall symptom relief compared to Allegra. It has also been shown to provide overall relief faster than Allegra.

According to a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial, Claritin was found to have a 24.5 percent reduction in symptom relief scores compared to a 19 percent reduction with Allegra. The trial compared both drugs in 836 patients randomized to either therapy. Results showed that the active ingredient in Claritin produced a greater level of relief earlier than that of Allegra.In another randomized study, 688 participants with seasonal allergic rhinitis were given either Claritin, Allegra, or placebo. Results found that Allegra produced better relief of eye symptoms such as itchy, watery eyes compared to Claritin. While both drugs relieved nasal symptoms, Allegra was also found to improve the overall quality of life compared to Claritin.

Some reports say that Allegra has less sedative effects than Claritin and other antihistamines. However, one post-marketing study found that there was no significant difference in the level of sedation between Claritin and Allegra. Both drugs were found to be appropriate for workers with jobs that require some level of alertness for safety, such as flight crew.

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Can Allergic Rhinitis Make Asthma Worse

Hay fever can make asthma harder to control. People with asthma who also have allergic rhinitis have more visits to hospital or emergency departments and more time off work or school than other people with asthma.

Some people find that the things that trigger their asthma will also make their allergic rhinitis worse. These could include things they are allergic to or cold air, cigarette smoke or other irritating fumes.

Effective treatment for allergic rhinitis may reduce the chance of severe asthma attacks, and make the lungs work better.

People with allergic rhinitis who are allergic to grass pollens can have asthma attacks caused by springtime thunderstorms. These mainly occur in October-November, in places where there is a lot of grass pollen . Very severe asthma attacks triggered by thunderstorms are more likely in people who have asthma as well as allergic rhinitis – especially if their asthma is not well controlled, or they are not taking regular preventer medication for their asthma.

What Is Fda Doing

We are requiring a Boxed Warning, our most prominent warning, to be added to the prescribing information of montelukast to describe these serious mental health side effects and to recommend that montelukast should only be reserved to treat allergic rhinitis in patients who are not treated effectively with or cannot tolerate other allergy medicines. We are also requiring a new patient Medication Guide to educate patients and parents/caregivers about the medicine.

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Products Contraindicated With Asthma

Asthma was once a labeled contraindication for allnonprescription products containing first-generation antihistamines. Therationale behind this labeled contraindication was discussed by an OTCreview panel appointed to examine antihistamines in its original 1976report: The Panel is aware that a controversy exists concerning the useof antihistamines in patients with bronchial asthma where a dryingaction is undesirable. Many physicians consider this effect to bedisadvantageous in patients with bronchial asthma and some maintain thatthe antihistaminic drugs are contraindicated in patients with thisdisease.2 Products carried this label for years. In 1985,the FDA published a tentative final monograph for antihistamines,agreeing with the need for this label.3

In 1992, however, the FDA published its final rule on labeling for nonprescription first-generation antihistamines.4In this document, the agency described the conclusions of a 1990meeting of the FDAs Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee.Participants believed that first-generation antihistamines did not havesufficient anticholinergic effects to be problematic for those withasthma, removing the term asthma from the warnings. Second-generationantihistamines have never beenrequired to carry an asthma warning.

Common Side Effects Of Allegra Vs Claritin

Allegra and Claritin share some mild side effects such as headache, drowsiness, and fatigue. These side effects are common with other second-generation antihistamines like Zyrtec . However, Allegra may produce less drowsiness than Claritin and other antihistamines.

Other common side effects of Allegra include dizziness, nausea, stomach ache, and back pain. Claritin may also cause dry mouth.

Serious side effects are rare with Allegra and Claritin. However, allergic reactions to any of the ingredients in either drug are possible. Those with allergies to either drug may experience rash, swelling, or trouble breathing. Seek medical attention immediately if this occurs.

Source: DailyMed , DailyMed .

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