Seasonal allergies are a pain for allergy sufferers. They cause inflammation, itching, sneezing, watery eyes, stuffy and runny nose, and can interfere with the performance of daily activities. Most sufferers have a sensitivity to certain kinds of pollen, mold, dust, or pet dander. Taking medication for general allergy symptoms helps relieve most of the effects of allergic reaction, but medicine is not always effective for seasonal allergy relief.
Because allergy medication seems to work better or worse on different days, allergy sufferers now tend to believe that their allergy symptoms will grow stronger against medicine over time. However, it is a myth that the body will build a tolerance to allergy medication.
Allergic Response Is Unpredictable
The human body triggers an allergic response because it believes that the pollen, dust, or dander that has entered your system is a threat to its normal operation. Though the risk of allergic reaction is higher on days when there are increased volumes of allergens in the air, the volume of allergens doesn’t always correspond perfectly with the intensity of allergy symptoms.
Accordingly, measuring the effectiveness of seasonal allergy relief medication with accuracy is a challenge. Some days, allergy sufferers may feel as if their medication is not working. Other days, they may be inclined to credit their lack of symptoms with a lack of allergens, when in fact, their allergy medication has effectively fought off inflammation.
Other Diseases May Interfere
Allergy sufferers who also cope with asthma and allergic rhinitis may be able to block the symptoms of a standard allergic reaction without preventing symptoms from their other diseases. A misinterpretation of symptoms that cross over between conditions could cause allergy sufferers to believe that their medication has failed over time.
However, researchers have found that for patients with asthma, daily treatment of allergies indeed reduces the risk of asthma attacks. Reduced risk of asthma attacks indicates a mitigated allergic response, which eliminates the possibility of allergy medication tolerance.
Patients Aren’t Taking Medications Correctly
Medication instructions can be too basic or unclear sometimes. To supplement provided instructions, experts have looked into the best times to take seasonal allergy medications and have found that medications work best when they are in a person’s system before allergy symptoms begin or enter the system immediately following exposure to allergens.
Those who suffer from seasonal allergies will generally enjoy the best results when they take their seasonal allergies medication daily at the same time each day. Having a constant store of histamine-fighting ingredients or corticosteroids in the blood helps build on the anti-allergy effect over time. If patients break their medicine regiment for a day or two, they may start to believe that they have built a medicine tolerance when they resume medication.
Allergy medicine tolerance is a long-standing myth that is easily believable for allergy sufferers. However, with disciplined dosage scheduling and allergy awareness, patients can continue to fight their seasonal allergies all season long.
