Allergies and diving

[Zoomer]

As an update to all interested. My allergist recommended and prescribed singular when things are bad and a nasal spray (Rhinocort), another thing that gives some relief is a Netti pot...
I have also had the blood drawn and cultured and the scratch test. He is now starting me on the allergy drops. For those of you with allergies and have never been to an allergist I suggest you go. The test are to tell you what you are allergic to and the severity of the reaction, the doctor will then recommend a course of treatment. There is now a new way of treating allergy symptoms. In the past there where injections and they still use this method to this day. There are risks with injections, first of all they are injecting you with a small dose of what you are allergic to, but if you have a reaction it could mean serious issues and possibly even death, another drawback is you have to go for a every long time (average of a year) before they really start doing any good.
Now they use drops, they are taken under the tongue... I understand at the end of 8 weeks I will be at full strength and should be allergy symptom free.

 

[yyidus]

This is probably getting really off-topic, but here's my $0.02 ..

I was treated with the regular injections. It starts off with VERY regular shots, then becomes a once-a-month shot. You have to stay for monitoring for 30 minutes after.

The shots worked while I was getting them. However, about a year after I stopped (I moved and didn't bother continuing with treatments) my allergies came back. So it works fine (for non-food allergies), but we're talking about life-long treatment that's not generally covered by insurance....

As an update to all interested. My allergist recommended and prescribed singular when things are bad and a nasal spray (Rhinocort), another thing that gives some relief is a Netti pot...
I have also had the blood drawn and cultured and the scratch test. He is now starting me on the allergy drops. For those of you with allergies and have never been to an allergist I suggest you go. The test are to tell you what you are allergic to and the severity of the reaction, the doctor will then recommend a course of treatment. There is now a new way of treating allergy symptoms. In the past there where injections and they still use this method to this day. There are risks with injections, first of all they are injecting you with a small dose of what you are allergic to, but if you have a reaction it could mean serious issues and possibly even death, another drawback is you have to go for a every long time (average of a year) before they really start doing any good.
Now they use drops, they are taken under the tongue... I understand at the end of 8 weeks I will be at full strength and should be allergy symptom free.

 

[chris408]

Interesting, allergy drops. I'll have to bring that up to my allergist. And looking to get into Nitrox so it's good to found out that pseudoephedrine (which I take sometimes) may or may not have an issue with Nitrox. Need to look into that one.

I have Kaiser and currently on their Allergy program, and they give shots. For me it's once a week for the four things I'm allergic to, found using the pin prick testing. They increase the dosage of the allergen if/when you don't' react to it. Also taking 180mg prescription Allegra, eye drops, and Nasarel (nasel spray) as well as Singular for the days I go in for my shots or when it's bad. The cocktail seems to be working for me. I've tried Claritin and Zyrtec and they don't seem to work as nice as Allergra.

As an update to all interested. My allergist recommended and prescribed singular when things are bad and a nasal spray (Rhinocort), another thing that gives some relief is a Netti pot...
I have also had the blood drawn and cultured and the scratch test. He is now starting me on the allergy drops. For those of you with allergies and have never been to an allergist I suggest you go. The test are to tell you what you are allergic to and the severity of the reaction, the doctor will then recommend a course of treatment. There is now a new way of treating allergy symptoms. In the past there where injections and they still use this method to this day. There are risks with injections, first of all they are injecting you with a small dose of what you are allergic to, but if you have a reaction it could mean serious issues and possibly even death, another drawback is you have to go for a every long time (average of a year) before they really start doing any good.
Now they use drops, they are taken under the tongue... I understand at the end of 8 weeks I will be at full strength and should be allergy symptom free.

 

[scubamickey]

Allegra and Veramyst work well for me. Claritin helps my husband far better than Allegra. It depends on the person and the type of allergen.

I use Sudafed 12hr to relieve the congestion if I'm diving with a cold and my nose is stuffed up. Works very well.

We've both found that our allergies go away once we are in the tropics and away from the cat, the mold, and the pollen