What are the primary allergens in Austin? (2015, school)

[AllysonDivana]

Considering a move for a few years but have heard that the allergies are really bad in the Austin area.

Coming from a NorthEast city I have no idea what are the primary allergens one might find there.

Does anyone have any idea?

Thank you very much.

[DCtoTejas]

Mountain cedar and mold

[CptnRn]

http://images.news8austin.com/media/..._annual_sm.jpg

[CarnivalGal]

Cedar, cedar, and more cedar. There are others, but this seems to be, by far, the most debilitating.

[Idlewile]

Mold is as debilitating as cedar is for our family because mold is always present here. We will be moving out of state because of it specifically -- as well as cedar -- because we can no longer take primary and secondary OTC allergy meds for preventative maintenance due to the internationally-recognized confirmed studies linking prolonged use (3 years or more) to dementia and Alzheimer's in later life. We've been off OTC meds for two weeks or so now -- since the study went public -- and without preventive histamine blockers we're a mess. Crazy because it's not just us... many, many people are now aware of the findings at school and some at work too and people are really suffering w/o the meds.

Right now, we know of three families set to move out of central TX by summer bc prolonged OTC allergy med use is no longer an option -- it truly is/was the only way for many residents of central TX to cope.

Hey, maybe the population will start to drop off now and the traffic will improve? Austin. Winning.

Also, oak, elm and ragweed are always bad for us here.

[teasipmom]

Originally Posted by Idlewile

We will be moving out of state because of it specifically -- as well as cedar -- because we can no longer take primary and secondary OTC allergy meds for preventative maintenance due to the internationally-recognized confirmed studies linking prolonged use (3 years or more) to dementia and Alzheimer's in later life.

I thought it was the anticholinergic effects that have been linked to Alzheimers, not the antihistaminic effects. The newer antihistamines do not have an anticholinergic effect. The old ones that do are diphenhydramine and chlorpheniramine.

See this article: Common anticholinergic drugs like Benadryl linked to increased dementia risk - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard Health Publications

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by teasipmom

I thought it was the anticholinergic effects that have been linked to Alzheimers, not the antihistaminic effects. The newer antihistamines do not have an anticholinergic effect. The old ones that do are diphenhydramine and chlorpheniramine.

See this article: Common anticholinergic drugs like Benadryl linked to increased dementia risk - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard Health Publications

Possible anticholinergics include those listed with an ABC score of 1 which are all OTC allergy meds with the exception of Allegra. In the UK they've run the same studies but years ago (!) with the same findings and direct links thus it appears their OTC allergy meds there have warning labels on them.

More info on this chart which is easy to read, CptnRn posted it weeks back. http://www.agingbraincare.org/upload...legal_size.pdf

The point is -- for us -- I've been taking Zyrtec for more than 3 years, 365 days a year in order to live here. We've been giving it to our child for 2.5 years - every day - to cope. Benadryl as needed and prescribed by multiple local allergists "anytime it really gets bad" which is a lot. Not willing to take a chance.

Also, we have ties to the University of Washington and requested the entire full-length academic study; the facts, figures and confirmed links were anything but encouraging. Not willing to risk it.

I truly feel sorry for anyone who has taken a drug with an ABC score of 2 or 3 for a prolonged period if time.

[teasipmom]

Seems to be the biggest issue if you are elderly. Otherwise, we'd be seeing dementia in everyone and they'd take them off the market. Are you planing to move somewhere where there "are no allergies", if so, where would that be?

[cariadbach]

I'll keep banging on about this....xylitol nasal spray is great at reducing allergy symptoms. The one I've recommended is the Xlear brand which is available at whole foods for about $15.

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by teasipmom

Are you planing to move somewhere where there "are no allergies", if so, where would that be?

I have lived all over -- northern CA, southern CA, CO, GA, OH, CT, NY, MA -- and haven't had any issues other than occasional hay fever which an OTC knocks out completely versus taking one 356 days/year here and still feeling like I have a cold because the counts are so high here compared to elsewhere and mold is present year round. There are plenty of folks who move here and then move away only because of allergies, it's not uncommon. e.g. There have been two or three from Austin who have ended up on the C-D Denver board just in the last 6 months.

Originally Posted by cariadbach

I'll keep banging on about this....xylitol nasal spray is great at reducing allergy symptoms. The one I've recommended is the Xlear brand which is available at whole foods for about $15.

It's cheaper on Amazon and free shipping. Too bad it does nothing for me, I was excited to try it. Nasacort does help me however, I've found, like many others have, that it works significantly better for me than Flonase.