Allergy meds

mrw5641

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Hi all!

Anyone have any luck with antihistamine? Which one worked better than another vs. which one didn't work at all?

I have gone back and forth with zrytec and claratin but I have no idea if it's working or not.
 

honeybutter

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I take 20mg off-brand Zyrtec nightly for my allergies (cat and seasonal, I take it year-round for the cats though), and avoid benadryl if I can (that stuff knocks me out like a light and I wake up feeling horribly tired). I take it at night because it makes me drowsy and usually takes a bit to work anyways, so if I take it in the day I not only have to suffer being sleepy but it also won't really be effective for an hour or so IME. (YMMV of course!) It helps a ton, and really basically eliminated my cat allergy symptoms. I recently ran out for a few days because of being stupid about checking how much I had in the bottle, and had my symptoms come back, so do beware that even if you feel like you're "cured" you might not be!

If your cat allergies aren't severe (for reference, my symptoms are mostly dyshidrotic eczema worsening/flare-ups, sneezing, eye itching, etc. — nothing major like airway blockages), then I'd just use the OTC allergy medicine that works for you. Some people have better luck with Zyrtec or Claritin (or Allergra, etc.) due to differences in biology, and people have different reactions for that same reason. For example, most people that use Zyrtec don't seem get any drowsiness, but I do unfortunately. So you kind of have to experiment a bit, which sucks (sorry!).
 
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mrw5641

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Thanks for the response! I should have said that I am giving the meds to my kitty 😂😂
 

honeybutter

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Thanks for the response! I should have said that I am giving the meds to my kitty 😂😂
Oh my god 😂 sorry! I totally thought this was about a human. Our first cat ironically has a food allergy (our vet did not suggest testing due to expense, just advised giving her Zyrtec when we brought it up) and we give her 1/2 of a standard 10mg tablet daily if she's having allergies (signs are easy, she gets runny eyes and will sometimes sneeze). Our vet told us Zyrtec was safe for cats and since we already take it, it was the simplest answer. It's pretty obvious if it's working since her eyes won't be running anymore, and usually just the half tab seems to work just fine w/o side effects. If your cat's symptoms are less visible it might be trickier :( Might be worth checking in with a vet if you haven't, in case it's a flea allergy?

If it's a known or suspected dietary allergy, I'd chime in with saying that our cat is allergic to pea starch (which is in sooooo much cat food and treats! We really had no idea!), which we figured out through some trial/error (sorry Benny!) over a few weeks. It was tough but cheaper than testing, lol, and we're very sure of the allergy since if we give her a treat or nibble of something with pea starch she will have runny eyes either that or the next day, poor thing. AFAIK it's not even a rare allergy or sensitivity, but we'd never heard of it until we began logging the types of food/treats she reacted to and looking out for any common ingredient.

Hopefully this reply is a little more helpful :thumbsup: sorry bout that!
 

WMM201

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Hi! My cat has been on chlorphenirame (generic of chlortrimeton or walmart chlor-tabs) and is currently on hydroxyzine, and this is for inhaled allergies (pollen, dust). The chlorphenirame is cheap, if your cat will take pills. My vet let her have 1/2 to 1 tab, twice per day. However, my cat refused to take pills anymore, so we switched to the compounded liquid. We then switched to hydroxyzine (also compounded liquid) because she was still coughing and was getting ear infections from allergies, and the hydroxyzine seems to be working better. I'm not sure what kind of allergies your kitty has, but good luck!
 
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mrw5641

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Thanks W WMM201 i take hydroxyzine myself and it sure makes me sleepy
 
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