What allergy med should i take

Always check with your pharmacist if you need help selecting an appropriate OTC allergy medication. If you struggle with allergy symptoms, you should make an appointment with an allergist to talk about testing for triggers, allergen avoidance, and the need for an EpiPen emergency epinephrine. Skip to main content Search for a topic or drug.

Allergy Rx Your seasonal allergy medication questions answered. By Shaili Gandhi, Pharm. Top Reads in Health Education. What is insulin resistance? Do coffee and diabetes mix? Diabetes in women Nov. How to lower blood sugar Nov. Looking for a prescription?

Search now! Type your drug name. Then there's you — sneezing and sniffling. When allergies strike, you already know the drill: Grab some allergy meds and the softest facial tissue you can find. But after staring at the sea of over-the-counter allergy medicine options, most of us will leave the drug store wondering: Did I even buy the right thing?

To effectively fight allergies, you'll first want to be sure it's indeed allergies, and not a cold or even the flu.

Brad Hays, primary care physician at Houston Methodist. Whether your allergies are seasonal or just a one-time thing, Dr. Hays is here to help you navigate the options you'll find in the allergy medicine aisle.

As soon as allergy symptoms set in, Dr. Hays says your first line of defense should be antihistamines. And that may be true. Many pharmaceutical-grade allergy drugs once available only by prescription are now as easy to buy as aspirin. But that development forces you to become a doctor in the drugstore aisle as you try to figure out which product is right for you.

They try a mix of medications, but don't get relief," says Dr. To continue reading this article, you must log in. Already a member? Login ». As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. Lastly, immunotherapy — or allergy shots — can also regulate your allergies in the long term and help prevent flare-ups in your symptoms each allergy season.

World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Women's Health. Primary Care. Mental Health. More Button Icon Circle with three vertical dots. It indicates a way to see more nav menu items inside the site menu by triggering the side menu to open and close. Laura Goldman. The three main types of allergy medicine are antihistamines, corticosteroid nasal sprays, and decongestants.

Sometimes, a combination of these medications will work to treat your seasonal allergies — though each have varying side effects and should be used in different situations. If these types of allergy medicine don't reduce allergy symptoms, you may want to consider immunotherapy, or allergy shots.

This story is part of Insider's guide to Seasonal Allergies.