Ragweed season is in full bloom, and if you are allergic — it’s been a nasty fall so far.
My mother has ragweed allergies. Every year, she starts to look like death warmed over as September sets in: black circles under her eyes, blocked nasal cavities, nasty cough. Usually, this also results in her getting sick as the bacteria and viruses take advantage of her inflamed nasal tissues.
This year, I recommended Claritin to my mom. We’ve been using it for my son’s seasonal allergies in the summer, and it really worked well. These new once-a-day antihistamines are especially handy for kids who are away all day at school: I give it to him in the morning and don’t think about it again. We did notice that he had to be taking it for 4-5 days before it really worked at full effectiveness, but that seemed a reasonable trade-off for better control of his symptoms.
My mom decided that she’d go for the Claritin liquid too. Lo and behold: she got better control of her summer seasonal allergies.
But then ragweed season set in.
She decided she just didn’t want to be on a whole host of prescription drugs. Off she went to her local health food store. A helpful clerk told her about the Neti Pot. She bought one.
A neti pot is a device that looks like a small, one-cup tea pot. It’s used to clean the sinuses. The pot comes with a mix to add to the water, which helps to moisturize and soothe the inside of your nose.
Okay — you might not like the idea of pouring water through your sinuses, but it’s actually quite easy to use. Further, it helps with the primary recommendation of allergists for anyone who is allergic: you are actually “avoiding” your allergen. You do this by washing allergens out of your nose. You’ll also wash out mucus which can be restricting clear breathing. When you do this every night, you help yourself to get a better sleep as well as a rest from your allergen.
My mom is using it in conjunction with an air purifier in her bedroom. The combination is a one-two punch against any allergen bugging her at night.
When she gets up she uses the Neti pot again, just to help clean her nose out before the day begins. Then she takes her Claritin and she’s ready for whatever ragweed season throws at her.
