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Zyrtec vs. Claritin vs. Allegra

Monday April 21, 2008

11:46:32 am - ATL, Me - Comments (16)

I’ve pretty much always had fairly horrible seasonal allergies. When I moved from Connecticut to Georgia in 1990 my allergies actually got better, at least for a few years. Then there was the year I had a nosebleed everyday for 2 months. That’s not an exaggeration. I didn’t start taking prescription allergy medicines until I got to college after a trip to the allergy clinic revealed that I was a perfect case study for their nurses in training and that I was getting a “nose crease” from rubbing my nose so much.

First, I started with Allegra. It worked well, but having to go to the doctor to get the prescription refilled is annoying. So, when Claritin went over the counter, I made the switch. It never worked as well as Allegra, but the convenience of it made it the winner (at the time). It seemed that from season to season Claritin had varying levels of success, though. I don’t remember last year being that bad, but the first few weeks of this season where nearly unbearable. I was a snot infested sneeze-fest. One day I sneezed so much, I actually pulled a muscle, which made subsequent sneezes and coughs not awesome.

So, I switched again. This time to the newly over the counter Zyrtec. Initially I bought a five pack to see how it worked and from day one it was great. My head feels way less full, I’m sneezing less, my eyes are less burny, and nosebleeds are at a minimum. An excellent test of its powers occured on Friday after work when I metup with the lady and some friends at Sweet Water for the beer tasting (I did not taste any) thing they do during the week. We were outside for about an hour and a half with only two sneezes. Success! So, this past weekend we headed back to the pharmacy to pick up a 60 pack of the store brand Zyrtec.

For now, Zyrtec is the winner. I’m not sure if I would switch back to Allegra if it ever goes over the counter, guess we’ll have to see how Zyrtec does over time.

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Comments

  1. Mark
    Tuesday, April 22, 2008 10:50:27 am

    I use the prescription nasal spray Astellin. It’s like holy water for allergies.

  2. Jebus
    Tuesday, April 22, 2008 11:34:25 am

    “I use the prescription nasal spray Astellin. It’s like holy water for allergies.”

    Does that mean that a priest waves his hands at it and that it’s actually just normal saline spray?

  3. Jeff
    Thursday, April 24, 2008 10:55:35 am

    None of the allergy medicines have ever really worked for me. The old Claritin (pre-OTC) worked great for about a week and then my body just got used to it. Same with Allegra. So this season I’m going to give Bee Pollen a try. Yep. I’m an f’ing hippie now. :-)

    I’ll let you know how it goes.

  4. Stephen
    Friday, April 25, 2008 04:35:25 am

    I strongly recommend asking your physician about a nasal steroid like Nasonex or Flonase. I personally have had a lot of success with these drugs alone and in conjunction with an antihistamine. The drugs work on different parts of the allergy pathway and can have a greater efficacy or working effect.

    Nasal steroids can work faster than antihistamines at the onset of symptoms, and they are most effective if taken everyday of the allergy season. Flonase has a generic as well.

  5. BooBoo
    Sunday, April 27, 2008 09:25:59 am

    I have the same problems with allergies. I didn’t have a problem really until I moved to ATL. Zyrtec has been the only thing that has worked. Yay! Have you gone to an allergist? That is my next step as I am sick of taking pills. Give me a shot any day over popping those effin’ pills.

  6. Jeff
    Wednesday, April 30, 2008 10:58:36 am

    I have suffered from chronic sinusitis and vicious allergies. I have undergone a bilateral turbinate reduction surgery and a septum surgery. Zyrtec is by far the best for allergies. So far as instant satifaction try ‘nose drops’ they are 1% pseudophed saline drops. Instand clear up, just doesnt last long. And as a general rule saline spray should be your best friend. Ive been to an allergiest and nose doctor. Astellin, Rinocort, and Flonase also help a bit so far as sprays go. And of course if you get a really packed up Pseudophedrine/Phenalephrine works great, little red pills.

  7. James
    Wednesday, April 30, 2008 02:28:42 pm

    I myself have also tried all 3 and sided with Allegra. I received all the side effects with Claritin and Zyrtec didn’t work. Allegra is the only one that works for me. Since I have sinus problems 365 days a year I take Allegra all year round. To me Allegra is like Seldane (minus the heart palpitations). I thought about trying Zyrtec again because it is OTC, but I will stick with what works.

    I have also tried generic Allegra and it didn’t work what-so-ever. Also when Allegra switched from capsules to tablets to me it seems like there not as effective.

    Just my 2 cents!

  8. SK
    Tuesday, May 06, 2008 10:12:27 am

    I have tried Claritin and Allegra (generic) - neither work. I am also using Nasonex - but everytime I use the spray I sneeze. My allergies have been worse this year. I suppose Zyrtec is my only option left to try. I have also heard taking supplements of Vitamin C helps - any one hear of that? At this point I will try anything!

  9. hillary
    Sunday, June 08, 2008 11:21:51 am

    I lived in Florida for years and didn’t have any allergic symptoms. When I moved back to Illinois, my allergies went crazy. I have been taking Zyrtec for about a week now. I see no benifit. I took Claritin last year and remember getting better relief. I’m going crazy with all of sneezing, itchy eyes, and nose.

  10. John
    Tuesday, July 08, 2008 02:42:59 am

    While Flonase does work great and yeah it has a generic, the generic still runs about 80 a month wihthout insurance (or if your insurance doesn’t cover allergies) which is almost as bad as 150 for a month of adderall

  11. Jessica Cha
    Friday, September 05, 2008 05:12:23 am

    I never had allergies until I went into the Navy…

    after moving to Virginia Beach, I had to start taking claritin daily… which I must admit worked pretty well. I would say it was effective 95% of the time…

    but I recently moved from Virginia Beach to the Mojave Desert and BOY has it wrecked my body’s entire system…

    so I actually burst a blood vessel in my eye today from sneezing so violently, rapid fire… and if that weren’t enough, it feels like im getting kicked on each side of the collarbone with each sneeze and not to mention - I went thru an entire brand new box of tissues…

    Well… the claritin didnt work as well as usual… I think it has something to do with my environment…

    anyway, so I bought a bottle of prescription strength zyrtec at walmart today… just took it about 20 minutes ago and i honestly have to say, i feel better than i did taking claritin…

    its obvious that things like these have different reactions with diff ppl…

    hope this helps…

  12. Carolyn Mann
    Monday, September 08, 2008 06:07:30 pm

    I have had terrible allergies all my life, done the shots thing, and all the Rx and OTC meds. I spent a week in the hospital once with Asthma. After that, I knew something had to be done, so I tried homeopathic drops, which work for me.

    Homeopathics (homeo means “the same”) are tiny, tiny, tiny amounts of whatever you are allergic to, distilled down 6, 8 or 12 times. It is kind of like allergy shots, meaning they get your body set up to fight off the allergens you respond to. The homeopathic drops work best if you start taking them about a month ahead of the allergy season.

    You usually won’t find these drops in the pharmacy, so go to your local health food store, such as Whole Foods, Central Market, Oat Willie’s, etc.

    I use the homeopathic allergy drops made by BioAllers.

    BioAllers makes drops ( which I prefer) for:
    Pollen and Hayfever
    Mold, Yeast and Dust (I used this year round here in Texas)
    Tree Pollen (I use in the winter for Cedar Pollen)
    Grass Pollen ( use this in the spring and fall)
    Animal Hair and Dander
    Dairy Allergies
    Grain and Wheat Allergies
    Children’s Allergies (does not contain alcohol)

    BioAllers makes tablets (dissolve under tongue) for:
    Indoor Allergies
    Outdoor Allergies
    Pet Allergies

    BioAllers makes Nasal Sprays for:
    Sinus and Allergy (great for sinus infections - opens the sinuses to drain all that crap out)
    Indoor Allergy
    Outdoor Allergy

    I keep a bottle of the Mold, Yeast and Dust plus a bottle of whatever else is in the air at the time, by my bed. I take a 1/2 dropper full of each under my tongue morning and evening. When allergens are really bad, I take a 1/2 dropper full several times a day.

    I used to be able to buy homeopathic drops from a Nevada company called DOLISOS, which worked excellently for me, but I cannot find their products here since they were bought out by a French company, Groupe Limagrain. Homeopathics are big in Europe and are often prescribed by M.D.s there.

    There is a good discussion of what homeopathics are, and what they do at
    http://www.lyghtforce.com/Dolisos/QuesAnsw.htm

    Homeopathics take a while to build up your immunity, so do not give up on them until you have tried them for at least 2 weeks. Most of the many people to whom I have recommended the homeopathic drops now swear by them. A bottle costs between $8 - $12 and usually last me a month or more.

    Good luck!

  13. Mary
    Monday, September 15, 2008 01:58:26 am

    Hey bobafred, how is life in Georgia these days? We’re thinking of moving back eventually. Although with all the change down there, I don’t know if it would do my allergies any good. I had horrible allergies as a kid, growing up in Georgia. But as I got a bit older, they suddenly started to get better. Then, we moved to Illinois. Ugh. I started getting sinus infections. But I’ve also developed some fragrance and chemical sensitivities over the years which has worsened my asthma and allergies.

    I took Flonase for many years to reduce nasal pollops. That seemed to work. For my allergies, I started allergy shots which seem to work pretty well. Benadryl works for me but it makes me feel “loopy”. I’ve never tried Allegra, Claratin, or Zyrtec, but with my growing fragrance sensitivities, I’m thinking of starting. I was on Asmanex for my asthma, but now I’m on Singulair and Advair. I seriously think that the amount of air pollution (indoor and out) is giving us more allergies and respiratory diseases. Asthma and allergies were rare 50 years ago. Now, they are exploding all over the country. I think our “modern” society is slowly poisoning our immune systems.

    Good luck to everyone. Allergies suck.

  14. Sarah
    Thursday, September 18, 2008 03:21:23 pm

    I have asthma and severe allergies and Allegra is the only thing I can use which I use daily. I can’t take generics because they make my ankles swell and they do not work as well (the formulas are not the same just the ingredients). Now my insurance company wants to punish me for getting my asthma and alllergies under control (no inhaler for 3 yrs now) and take Allegra away. Had I known that my insurance company with no Medical Degree can have someone who has NEVER met me, tell me what is best for me - I could have saved a lot of office visits. Is this legal drug pushing? Do you think it is time that we take back our rights before the insurance companies take our lives? I never realized that one drug could work for everyone, so why are there so many drugs on the market?

  15. Julie
    Wednesday, September 24, 2008 12:36:31 pm

    I have a question -

    I was taking Allegra, 180 MG, it works for me but I don’t want to pay the price. So I’ve tried OTC Zyrtec and Claritin. Claritin 10MG works better for me than the Zyrtec 10MG, but I’m wondering if I could take more that just one pill a day? I feel like it works but not completely like the Allegra did. I’m guessing the MG amount of each pill; perscription vs OTC does not directly relate???

    Another dilemma of mine is every fall I develop a rash on my eye lids. I’ve tried every kind of creme to stop the itch and the rash, (its not pretty!). It has to be an allergic reaction to a seasonal something, but I’m not sure what. Any thoughts?

    I’ve done the whole allergy scratch test routine and was given the option to do shots or pills. I don’t have allergies year around so I don’t take pills daily. I’m worse in the spring and fall, I live in Montana so its mainly the vegitation that I’m allergic to.

  16. Dus10
    Sunday, October 05, 2008 11:03:58 pm

    I am currently dying (figuratively… maybe) from my allergy symptoms. I never had allergies until the summer after I had a vasectomy. I had my first sinus headache and I went to the emergency room; I had no idea how bad they could get. Once I figured it out, I would get some sort of NSAID (usually naproxen sodium) plus decongestant. It would take care of things if they got bad, and I would be good for a few days. Then, a couple of years ago, I found Claritin. It worked great, but it was ridiculously expensive (as I do not regularly take medication… and do not fully grasp the costs that some people deal with). I finally found the generic and in bulk quantity at Sam’s Club (seriously, if you have not checked there, or Costco, you had got to check it out… it blows Walmart out of the water… and they are the same company).

    Now, fast forward to this past week… and maybe last year. I got to the point where I could not regularly take loradatine. It would make my throat super dry and scratchy. So, I started taking it every 36 hours, instead of every 24. That seemed to do the trick until this past spring. I got to where I would just take it a few times to try and get over symptoms, and then just hope to time it right before they go bad again.

    Well, this past week, I didn’t time things right. I had a horrible reaction, and had uvulitis for about the sixth time. I went to the Doc and hoped he would just give me some prednisone as it will knock that out within a few hours. Instead, it told me to get back on the loradatine until a frost… and to take two daily for the next three days. Well, I didn’t make it through the first two-a-day without feeling the symptoms… my throat was horribly dry. I completely lost my voice and having been off it completely, my other symptoms kicked me the butt. Yesterday, I figured I would try Zyrtec… and I was surprised to find a generic. It seems to work great, and today was excellent. However, it is about 26 hours since I took the first pill, and the symptoms are already returning. I just took another… I guess I will just have to keep on a good 24 hour schedule.

    In addition to that, the Doc put me on flonase. Hopefully I can make it through this season, and next won’t be so bad…. and we aren’t that far into it just yet.

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