Antihistamines have been used to help allergy sufferers for years.
Most people don't really understand Antihistamines or how they work.
First it's important to take a closer look at allergies and exactly what effect they have on the body.
Allergies are the result of your body having a bad reaction to an outside substance.
These substances are typical allergens, such as pollen, dog or cat dander, dust, or a certain type of food.
You're body reacts by attacking them like they would any type of germ.
This is done my releasing a substance called histamine.
The byproduct of histamine is typical allergy symptoms like sneezing, watery eyes, rashes or hives.
Antihistamines work by fighting the histamine that's produced by the body.
In essence it protects the body from itself! More specifically it builds a protective wall around the cells of the effective area.
Once the cells are protected, there's nowhere for the histamine to take hold.
Like most medication, antihistamines historically has some negative side effects, the most notable being drowsiness.
In the past many people would choose to deal with their allergy symptoms other then taking medication.
What's the point if you're so tired you can't complete your day to day tasks? The good news is recently newer antihistamines have become available that fights histamine without causing drowsiness.
Of these Claritin and Allegra are the 2 most popular.
In the beginning they were only available by prescription, however that has recently changed.
Now they're both available over-the-counter.
They have been a proven treatment for all types of allergies, with minimal side effects.