Is Claritin giving me terrible allergy attacks?

August 15, 2008 11:45 AM

ClaritinFilter: Does daily use of Claritin give you strange once/month insane sneezing/sinus attacks? Please let me know if you've experienced this side effect (or not)...

I started taking Claritin daily in February after realizing I am allergic to my new workplace. (Long story short: It's very nature-y and park-like. I broke out in insane rashes on my arms and neck. Claritin made those rashes go away. If I stop taking it, the rashes come back.)

But for the past several months, about once per month, I've had really terrible allergy attacks--worse than normal. Each time it happens, I think I'm getting a cold, but it goes away after 8-12 hours (or a good night's rest).

I sneeze much more violently than normal. My nose doesn't stop running, and my sinuses hurt so much I want to extract my upper jaw. I usually take Benadryl and Tylenol Allergy-Sinus during these times, but they don't help much. I never experience my other typical cold symptoms--body aches, sore throat and coughing. Just the nasal/sinus issues. It really puts me out for the entire day.

Sometimes it happens at home, sometimes at work. It's happened in spring and summer. (I'm in SoCal.) Not much of a pattern. But this is brand new to me in my life full of allergies. Could it be the Claritin? Has anyone else experienced this?

posted by faunafrailty to health & fitness (17 comments total)

I took Claritin for years and never had anything like this. You could probably do some research online to see if this is a documented side effect.

Also, there are heavy promotions of Xyrtec over the counter right now, so you could probably get some for cheap and try it out to see if it has the same benefits for you and maybe avoid this problem.
posted by hydropsyche at 11:58 AM on August 15, 2008

Definitely give Zyrtec a try...much more effective than Claritin for me.
posted by gnutron at 12:08 PM on August 15, 2008

A word of caution ... if you have a bit of a trip-wire stomach as I do, Zyrtec might not be the best option.

As far as relief goes, I've had the most success with (still prescription only) Allegra-D.

But before either, I was on Claritin. I never had it go turncoat on me as it seems to be treating you, but I'm thinking that these attacks are not entirely Claritin's fault. Or rather, I'm wondering if the cumulative anti-histamine effect of your daily Claritin is maxing out on you, manifesting every month or so by your body saying "To hell with it" and reverting back to our built-in means of dealing with allergens (sneezing, coughing and so on).

Of course, I'm not a doctor, but I have been living with this kind of allergy for years now. And even though my current regimen of Allegra-D (and Flonase) keeps everything copacetic, allows me to breathe like everybody else does, there are still those times when the drugs just don't work. Most recently, I visited friends in Florida and the change of air content was just enough to make my meds almost entirely ineffective. By the time I got home, I was on track for a sinus infection. So in my case, as in the hypothesis I threw out for you, the allergens were just too much for my augmented defenses to bear. This was made evident to me with sneezing, headaches, stuffiness and all of that fun.

What to do? Not sure about your health coverage (and it is a damned shame that I've got to even ponder it), but you ought to see a doctor, perhaps even an allergist. At the very least, a general practitioner can give you a prescription for something more powerful than the over-the-counter variety of Claritin, or possibly recommend one of the other branded drugs mentioned here.

If you can't see a doctor for a prescription, then maybe you can help your Claritin through some of the more sound homeopathic remedies, namely a neti pot (SinuCleanse makes a very affordable one). It seems like total quackery -- I had to be convinced -- but a neti pot is pretty damned effective at clearing out the sinuses of anything that might team up against you and leave you with an infection.
posted by grabbingsand at 12:28 PM on August 15, 2008

Claritin = Speedy
Zyrtec = Groggy

Just FWIW if you change meds, that's what my take is on the difference between those drugs. Groggy isn't my cup of tea, so I stick with the Claritin.
posted by crapmatic at 12:47 PM on August 15, 2008

I take Claritin (well, the Costco equivalent, which is really worth looking into. It's like 12 bucks for 300 pills).

I wouldn't say that it's a once-a-month thing, but I do get the odd day where I sneeze like a mutha all day. Sometimes it's a day and a half. I just got off a period where I had the sneezes for a day and dry eyes for the next two. Previous time was in late May or early June.

I chalk it up to some plant that I'm allergic to blooming around the attacks. Who knows what it is. It doesn't really matter, does it? We're allergic to stuff and every once in a while we still feel it, and we're not alone. I grew up in an era where monthly antihistamine shots and later the semi-sedative Tavist were the best things you could hope for. So I take the sneezing fits as a reminder to be thankful that I've got it so good now.
posted by Mayor Curley at 12:57 PM on August 15, 2008

I've had the same awful allergy attacks that happened year-round at apparently random times. The running nose and sneezing would just go on and on for the entire day. The only pattern I noticed is that they seemed to happen following periods when I'd been unusually relaxed and then gone back into my usual stressed out mode. I have a (half-baked) theory that it could actually be vasomotor rhinitis triggered by stress rather than an allergic reaction.

Now I use the generic version of Beconase (nasal spray) every day and it's helped enormously - I think it's been about a year now without an episode. I can't recommend it highly enough, although I guess it would be a good idea ask your pharmacist about using it every day if you're taking an antihistamine as well.
posted by tomcooke at 1:00 PM on August 15, 2008

I've been on generic drugstore Claritin for years, and just started Flonase this Feb/March. I've had a few occasional multi-day sneezing/runny nose bouts like you're describing, but not nearly as often as monthly.

But, I get an almost-daily mini allergy attack. Usually in the morning, often while driving to work which isn't good timing for a sneezing attack. These usually last probably 5 minutes or less (although it seems longer since it's so annoying).

@ grabbingsand - when do you use your Neti pot relative to when you're doing the Flonase? I'm interested in using mine again but I don't want to counter the Flonase.
posted by altcountryman at 1:12 PM on August 15, 2008

I've had the odd, insanely sneezy day while taking Claritin - which I take pretty regularly. I never thought to blame the drug, though.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 1:13 PM on August 15, 2008

grabbingsand: I do have insurance, and asked my doctor if taking Claritin forever could harm me, and she said no. But I didn't think to ask her about these random attacks. She did suggest going back on the nasal spray (it wasn't Flonase, which I took several years ago), but another prescription. I was avoiding it because I hated the whole nose spray/mouthwash ritual, but I realize I should try it again.

crapmatic: She also suggested Zyrtec, but if it makes you groggy, I'm going to avoid it. I can only take half doses of ANY allergy medicine other than Claritin or I'm out like a light. Even with half, I get sleepy.

The Light Fantastic: The reason I blame Claritin is I never had attacks like these before. I'd have more normal attacks ... you know, normal for me anyway. I would blame my overly blooming workplace, but I've had a few on Sundays. And I usually wake up with them.

tomcooke: I had a similar but opposite theory. Sometimes my attacks happen after I've had a big, exhaustive day. But that's only half the time. The other half of the time, nothing unusual has occurred.

So, my conclusion thus far is: Use the nose spray like I should (I have a sample) and ask for Allegra-D when my current Claritin bottle runs out, and see if these freak attacks stop...and hope that my hideous rashes don't occur. I'll take a monthly freak attack over turning into a rash monster 24/7.
posted by faunafrailty at 1:37 PM on August 15, 2008

Don't know if it's relevant, but it goes along with tomcooke's theory: This just came out in the news today: In short, stress one day makes allergies worse the next day.
posted by limeonaire at 2:43 PM on August 15, 2008

Keep in mind-- Allegra-D has pseudoephedrine in it as well as the antihistamine. As in, it's a stimulant. That might not matter to you, but it might not be a good option if you have concerns about taking a daily stimulant.
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:57 PM on August 15, 2008

I have been taking loratadine [generic Claritin] for umpteen years. Every few months, I have an "allergic crisis" with unstoppable sneezing, copious running nose and eyes, very groggy. The only antihistimne that will dry me up is Chlortrimatron [spelling from memory] which is profoundly sleep inducing.
I don't blame loratadine for the allergy crisis, I assume that some particle has broken past the barriers and unleashed histimine storm.
posted by ohshenandoah at 3:23 PM on August 15, 2008

Is it the Claritin-D? If it is, maybe you are drying out your sinuses and making them more susceptible to allergens.

Although now that you mention it, I want to say that has happened to me before. But I only take Claritin-regular and only during the allergy season. I chalked it up to "oops, I forgot to take my dose this morning".
posted by gjc at 4:22 PM on August 15, 2008

I suffer from many and varied allergies too. One of my latest issues, which causes no end of hilarity to my partner, is an awful sore throat, coming down with the flu episode that I get every single month three or four days before my menstrual period.

It's been happening for about six months, lasts 24-48 hours and I suppose it's to do with hormones or something.
posted by chairish at 4:37 PM on August 15, 2008

how's your tummy on those days, or the days immediately preceding? i find that, um, being a bit irregular can affect how well i absorb my daily meds on those days (like, once i got my period early because i didn't absorb my birth control very well for a couple of days).

by the way, i would strongly advise adding flonase into the mix. it really helps.
posted by thinkingwoman at 7:22 PM on August 15, 2008

I have only ever taken Claritin once and I sneezed like a mofo. Thought, WTF? and never took it again.
posted by HotToddy at 8:51 PM on August 15, 2008

When I started taking Claritin (OTC), it was very effective for close to a year (for me, that is). Its efficacy faded, and I was left with the worst sinus pains I'd ever had. I never had sinus problems with allergies, and I only ever had minor sinus pains with colds, so I did attribute this to the Claritin (though, I never bothered to determine if these were documented side effects). I can't say that my sneezes were more violent; I felt the need to sneeze, but couldn't do it. It was like having a really bad allergy just in my head. It didn't really look as if I were sick, but I felt wretched. And, I would have the constantly running nose and post-nasal drip. So, I had some of these side effects, too. I did stop taking Claritin at that point, and my allergies were normal after that (not as severe, no sinus pains). I have not tried Zyrtec. I just decided to cope with the Benedryl drowsiness.
posted by Mael Oui at 10:09 PM on August 15, 2008