you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 36 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (18 children)

Why is Claritin with the cold meds? It's allergy meds

  • source
  • hideshow 18 child comments
  • [–] 32 points 1 week ago (7 children)

    My local drugstore unhelpfully lumps the two together in an aisle as β€œallergy & cold”

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
  • [–] 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (6 children)

    There's a lot of that bullshit going on for cold/flu meds getting lumped into allergy medication which is confusing the hell out of everyone. Then there's useless fucking NyQuil which is an expensive scam.

    The few things that work on a cold or flu :

    Decongestant: sudafed

    Pain, fever, aches: ibuprofen

    Cough: Dextromethorphan, kinda. Middling evidence.

    Runny nose/sneezing: antihistamines... Here's where it's related to OP. Only the older, sedating ones (diphenhydramine/Benadryl, chlorpheniramine) help cold symptoms. The non-drowsy ones like loratadine (Claritin) DO NOTHING.

    Less days spent sick: Take zinc, cells use it to combat infections.

    Preventative to be sick for less time: Vitamin C supplement. Does not work if you only start taking it when already sick.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 5 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    Lortadine does help my like allergy level runny nose if I make sure to take it daily. Whatever's in NyQuil dries me out regardless of if it's a cold or allergies but it also knocks me on my ass too hard to be functional.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (3 children)

    It could help for actual allergies yeah. It's just useless against a viral infection as I understand it.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago

    The non-drowsy antihistamines work okay for runny nose/sneezing with colds as well; it doesn’t have to be just Benadryl. You could at least start with a non-drowsy one, and see if that cuts it for you.

    Personally I think the main benefit of something like Benadryl when you have a cold is that it puts you to sleep, not necessarily that it works better on the cold symptoms.

    Source: I’m a pharmacist.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago (8 children)

    some allergy meds, like Loratadine here, keep people up. so when going to siesta/sleep, some take antihistamine to sleep. the dosage varies on patients, so some take stronger doses depending on the amount of allergy medicine they take, and type of sleep they need.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 8 child comments
  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago (6 children)

    I rely on three Benadryl tablets a night to get to sleep.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago (4 children)

    Better living through chemistry!

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago* (3 children)

    I used to go to sleep the moment my head hit the pillow (no drugs needed). But, I had a difficult time motivating myself to do anything during the day. Now, I need help to sleep and I’m super motivated. πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ

    Honestly, I’ll gladly suffer the insomnia for the motivation.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    I've been perimenopausal for several years now and the worst symptom I've experienced is the sleep disruption. Last week I basically stopped sleeping, so I'm on hormones now. There's a slight relief, but at least I'm getting 6 very interrupted hours which is better than last week!

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (1 child)

    Is there something similar for men? I feel like things have been up and down for the psst ten years (I’m turning 50 next summer).

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago

    There is something similar as testosterone levels decline after 40, except I understand it's typically a much less noticable process since it's a gradual decline vs estrogen levels just tanking. I don't know if that ultimately effects sleep, but other changes like activity, stress, diet and other habits will.

  • source
  • parent