Treatment

• Nasal washes
• Decongestants that relieve nasal congestion and itchy eyes
• Decongestant/antihistamine combinations

Due to side effects, decongestants should not be used in children ages 14 years or younger. Also, overuse of nasal decongestions can actually worsen sinus congestion.

Treating Severe Allergic Rhinitis. Patients with chronic allergic rhinitis, particularly if they also have asthma, may require daily medications. These drugs include:

• Antihistamines. The newer non-sedating antihistamines -- such as cetirizine (Zyrtec), loratadine (Claritin), fexofenadine (Allegra), or desloratadine (Clarinex) -- cause less drowsiness than older antihistamines, such as Benadryl. Some of the newer drugs, such as Zyrtec and Clarinex, may also relieve nasal congestion.
• Anti-inflammatory drugs. Nasal corticosteroids are now considered to be the most effective measure for preventing allergy attacks. They are recommended for patients with very severe allergies that do not respond to antihistamines.
• Leukotriene-antagonists and nasal cromolyn may be beneficial in specific cases of allergies
• Immunotherapy ("allergy shots") works well for many patients with severe allergies. It is also proving to reduce asthma symptoms and the use of asthma medications in patients with known allergies.

Treating Itchy Eyes

Itching and redness in the eyes sometimes respond to oral antihistamines. Eye drops, however, provide faster relief, and a combination of the two may be best. The following are eye drops for itchy eyes. Others are also available. Individual responses vary, and patients need to find which specific treatment works best for them.

• Antihistamine eye drops: azelastine (Optivar), olopatadine (Patanol), ketotifen (Zaditor), levocabastine (Livostin) for relief of both nasal symptoms and itchy red eyes
• Decongestant eye drops: phenylephrine (Allergan Relief), naphazoline (Naphcon, Opcon-A, VasoClear), tetrahydrozoline (Murine Plus, Visine)
• Combination decongestant/antihistamine: Visine A.
• Corticosteroids: loteprednol (Lotemax, Alrex), pemirolast (Alamast).