I'm absolutely miserable in Austin because of allergies. (Houston, Spring: Valentine's day, insurance)

[philopower]

I seriously love this city but I'm out as soon as I graduate. I'm originally from Houston where I never had issues with my allergies, but now that I'm living here for UT, I am absolutely miserable. It's not even sneezing, sniffling, or burning eyes. It's more like coughing to the point where I'm gagging and even occasionally throwing up. It's not even Spring and I'm already suffering horrifically. Does anyone else have similar issues in Austin and have been able to control it?

[Trainwreck20]

Go to an allergist, sometimes it is a simple as a Zyrtec a day......

[FalconheadWest]

Fall has a lot of allergies like Spring. Mold and Ragweed are really bad in the Fall. I barely have a voice right now because of the allergies. I started allergy drops 2 months ago. They said to give it 3 months to notice a difference. Infecting my body with allergies in addition to the outside allergies makes my days pretty bad the past few weeks...

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by philopower

I seriously love this city but I'm out as soon as I graduate. I'm originally from Houston where I never had issues with my allergies, but now that I'm living here for UT, I am absolutely miserable. It's not even sneezing, sniffling, or burning eyes. It's more like coughing to the point where I'm gagging and even occasionally throwing up. It's not even Spring and I'm already suffering horrifically. Does anyone else have similar issues in Austin and have been able to control it?

When I lived there, after never having allergies anywhere else except to cat hair, I found that I was suffering year around. There's always SOMETHING blooming, in addition to constant mold issues. For a time my Austin employer's medical insurance #1 spend was for allergists and allergy meds... until they dropped that coverage completely, because it was so expensive.

The only effective control I ever found was to leave town. Flying to either coast or beyond would always bring fairly quick relief, so after a while, I reluctantly made my "getaway" permanent. Now I have the reverse situation, where flying in to Austin for a visit I always have to plan ahead for the burning eyes, headaches, shortness of breath. <sigh> It's like being in love with someone who is very bad for me.

Not everyone is affected, but for those of who are, Austin is the "live music and bad allergies capital of the world!"

[Idlewile]

Yes, and I take two Zyrtec every day of the year. Search the forum, there are a ton of posts on allergies here, you are not alone.

Have you been through Cedar season in Austin yet? Do you know if you are allergic to cedar (mountain juniper)? I feel like I have the flu end of December through Valentine's Day. It's truly horrific.

There's always allergy shots which seem to be a requisite for living here for allergy sufferers. But they take 5 years for effectiveness to properly set in, are time consuming and expensive and only work for some.

[philopower]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Go to an allergist, sometimes it is a simple as a Zyrtec a day......

I just started claratin recently and going to give it a go for a couple of weeks. Doctor also recommended hot tea and salt water gargle every night to relieve my cough. If that doesn't work then I'm screwed. I'm so looking forward to winter break to be back in Houston . I seriously do love Austin but it doesn't love me.

Originally Posted by Idlewile

Yes, and I take two Zyrtec every day of the year. Search the forum, there are a ton of posts on allergies here, you are not alone.

Have you been through Cedar season in Austin yet? Do you know if you are allergic to cedar (mountain juniper)? I feel like I have the flu end of December through Valentine's Day. It's truly horrific.

There's always allergy shots which seem to be a requisite for living here for allergy sufferers. But they take 5 years for effectiveness to properly set in, are time consuming and expensive and only work for some.

So last year which was my first year in Austin my allergies from October to December were very mild. I had this mild cough but it wasn't bad. Then all hell broke loose this past february all the way to april where I was perpetually sick.

[Trainwreck20]

There are a few other things you can do, as well - wash your bedding, especially your pillow case, frequently - every time you wash anything, throw your pillowcase in there.

Use Neti-pots or similar to clear your sinuses out, even if they don't seem to be acting up at the moment.

Take claratin daily for a starter, take it each an every day regardless. If that doesn't work, ask your dr. about Zyrtec (or similar).

Finally, shots - my dad took them some years ago because they were the only thing that actually worked effectively. You have to go in regularly for shots, but they taper off after a (long) while. My dad saw some improvement the first year, and marked improvement the second.

[AusParent]

I will second the neti-pot, especially for preventative maintenance. Walmart has inexpensive plastic ones in the pharmacy section. It's a little unnatural at first - pouring water into your breathing passages. But it definitely helps - speaking as someone who didn't understand allergies prior to moving to Austin.

[CptnRn]

After years of taking allergy shots, I'm down to one every 4 weeks now and my allergies are under control. I still get congested and drainage at times and use primarily nasal sprays and the Neti pot to deal with those, sometimes a Claritin D on really bad days.

The over the counter medication, Wal-Dryl, is great for night time use, it will dry up sinus drainage and help you sleep. The same medication is also sold as a sleeping pill. Use Zertec or 12 hour Claritan-D during the day as they do not make you sleepy and Claritan-D may keep you awake at night.

Walgreens has an inexpensive plastic Neti pot also. Using it really does help to minimize the symptoms, keeping the sinuses cleaned out. Get the recipe for making the salt water solution at the link below, use the stronger 3% solution occasionally for up to two weeks to relieve the worst symptoms and congestion and the weaker 1% solution for more frequent normal rinsing.

BUFFERED HYPERTONIC (3%) SALINE NASAL IRRIGATION Central Texas Allergy & Asthma Center - Allergist, Austin, Texas - Patient Education

Austin's worst allergy season, CEDAR, is coming up so the OP should start addressing the problem now.

[centralaustinite]

February to April allergies could be trees!

My spouse took shots for five years, now he barely reacts to anything. But zyrtec is still a regular item in our house -- mold, cedar, fall elm, spring oak it never ends.

In addition to the suggestions above, change clothes when you come home from work and wash your car often. Also allergens can build up on the fur of pets, you may not be allergic to them but to whatever is outside.