Dealing with allergies while running

J

Jaha13

0
So I have my first marathon coming up in three weeks. I feel ready and have done two 16-20 mile runs, with my last long run scheduled for this weekend. I have always had seasonal allergies, but I recently relocated to another part of the country (Oklahoma) and this is my first Spring season here.

In the past week I have been slammed with seasonal allergies like never before. My usual Zyrtec was not making a dent. The doctor prescribed Allegra and Nasanex. They haven't helped much yet but I am told they take a few dosages before I will feel it. Anyone have any experience with seasonal allergies on a run, or taking either/both of these medications? Any tips on natural remedies/good preparations would be appreciated.
 
Allergies are part of my daily existence - I sneeze a lot and blow my nose. I'm ok with that as it is 'normal', but come spring when the tree pollen really kicks up, I sometimes feel completely wiped out and actually kind of sick - like a mild case of the flu...

I did OK with Nasonex, but Allegra was a terrible experience for me - whacked me out mentally in a scary way. Suddenly I hated my life, my marriage, my job - everything. Like being plunged into depression, only I didn't feel depressed, just negative and hateful. My doc thought I was nuts, but shortly after I stopped taking Allegra, the nastiness went away again.

I try not to take the drugs unless I am really feeling slammed, then I stick with Clariton or a generic of it. In terms of natural remedies, quercitan seems to help me. I've seen recommendations for stinging nettle extracts too, but have not tried that. I have a terrible skin reaction to the plant so haven't been able to bring myself to try it.

I do find that being extra careful with diet helps too - I reduce my dairy consumption, I'm mostly wheat free these days anyway, but in the past I would have reduced it, and also reduced soy and simple sugars/processed carbs.

Where you are gearing up for a marathon you certainly don't want to go low carb, but do get your carbs from more complex sources such as lots of veggies, beans, wild rice, and fruits.

Good luck to you - I hope you can find something that helps so you don't run the race in a haze!
 
This really depends on what your symptoms are. I have seasonal allergies on occasion, allergies to pet dander (I live with cats). Depending on the symptom, I rely on different solutions. For itchy eyes, I just take Allegra, and it seems to work okay. But for me personally, I have more of a problem with wheezing and tightness of chest so for that I bring an emergency inhaler with me on all of my runs, just in case the wheezing gets unbearable. And then I also use Flovent on a daily basis to help with overall wheezing.
 
I have allergies this time of year, too. I don't take allergy meds chronically, so whatever I take works fine. If you're a regular pill-popper for your allergies, though, you need to be regularly switching between different meds, as your body becomes accustom to anti-histamines overtime.
 
Depends on what you have. If its more on the skin (cold air = rashes), cover yourself. If its sneezes..itchy eyes..you have to take something that suits your needs.
 
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