quadripper

Spring is here and with it comes the POLLEN!
Today I started a 30 min post-work ride feeling great, and finished it with watery eyes, running snotty nose and an itchy throat. Normally this kind of ride would leave me feeling great but there's gotta be something in the air...

Does anyone else deal with this problem? Any way around it? I just popped an anithistamine and took a shower as soon as i got off the bike and that seems about all i could do...
tips appreciated and ride on.

rpenmanparker 

See an allergist. Get immunotherapy injections. They work.

cannondale125

Happen to me as well. Doc gave me alegra d worked great.

hueyhoolihan

originally coming from the midwest, i suffered, like you, quite often out here in the east bay. my body has adjusted to it somewhat in the last 16 years, so i figure by the time i'm 80, i should start to feel pretty darn good.

blowing my nose helps... sometimes.

CharlyAlfaRomeo

I've been dealing with seasonal allergies (mostly grass) for over 20 years, immunotherapy didn't work for me unfortunately.

What has been effective is two things:

1. 1 or 2 extra strength Reactine in the morning and another 12 hours later.

2. Cutting out all the foods my allergist told me I was sensitive to even though most of them didn't give me a reaction and the ones that did (cheese and tomatoes) just give me a minor rash if I consume them semi-regularly.

Since restricting my diet I haven't needed to use an inhaler prior to strenuous exercise (I used to get EIA, mostly in the cold) and I only had two bad hay fever days last year as opposed to 3-5 weeks of torture every year for the previous 20+.

CharlyAlfaRomeo

Oh and make sure to follow the instructions carefully on whatever antihistamine you choose. Some need to be built up and maintained in your system in order to be effective.

Try to be proactive and take something regularly during your allergy season. For me at least, stopping a reaction after it has started is nearly impossible.

B. Carfree

You could do what my wife's old boss did: Leave Davis in late March and don't return until July. It helps if you are extremely rich and own property in Taiwan like he did if you want to take that approach.

hueyhoolihan

i've got a couple 'a villas in Spain that i'm not using. will that work?

pmt

Or use the local raw honey method and be done with allergies forever.

Darth Steele

Yep, been getting shots for years. I am on my maintenance dosage, one shot every 6 weeks.

I don't even sneeze anymore. I can't imagine not getting shots, I can't comprehend why I waited so long in life to get on a program.

Carbonfiberboy 

Nasecort, Nasonex, or Flonase. Simple and effective.

jdon

Pataday in the eyes, Nasonex in the nose before the ride and I am good for the day.

Silvercivic27

Yup, I get them too. Loratadine 10 mg daily ought to do the trick.

Jiggle

Is that the secret? I only use the raw honey my bee-remover buddy gives me. Never has allergies in my life.

Proxer

Just use an OTC allergy med.. Try out a few different kinds until you find one that works. I used a few different brands with different active ingredients that didn't really work. Somewhat of a placebo effect, I think, until I would accept that the meds aren't working. Finally tried Sinutab and could not believe the difference! Unbelievable. No more spring-time allergies.

Unfortunately, spring is still a little ways away from here

canam73

Not if you believe in science.

Flonase works very well for me without noticeable side effects.

Jiggle

You're right canam, I must be the dummy. Yet I am not the one with allergies.

redtires

I also use Flonase. My cottonwood allergies subside after about six weeks into the season (which is starting right now), but for me at least, riding seems to actually help my symptoms.

canam73

I don't know if you are dumb, but you are lucky.

I have had dust/pollen allergies all of my life as have many others in my family. I have tried most preventive measures, including folk remedies like local, raw honey and it didn't work for me at all. And that one in particular has no proven mechanism of action and it's affect has been shown to be no more than that of a placebo: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/he...ally.html?_r=0

I have also tried virtually all of the commonly available medications, too, both otc and prescription. As I said above, Flonase is what works for me with no noticeable side effects. What is really nice about it is once you have been on it a while you will be ok if you miss a day, unlike every antihistimine I have tried.