Why do allergy medications stop working?
By: Gabbi Di Marino, content manager and fellow allergy sufferer
Have your allergy medications stopped giving you the relief you need? Are you desperately trying to figure out why? You’re not alone. According to this Allergies in America study, 37% of allergy-sufferers say they have to change their allergy meds at least once every 5 years because they aren’t effective enough to tackle symptoms. I went through this last year when my go-to allergy medications (one I’d been taking for pretty much my entire life) had suddenly stopped doing its job.
So, I decided to do some digging and answer the questions I kept asking myself. Hopefully, this checks off some questions for you too!
Can you develop resistance to certain allergy medications?
The simple answer is no. While it may feel like the drug itself isn't working, developing a resistance to common over-the-counter antihistamines and decongestants is super uncommon. That doesn’t mean it doesn't happen, though! The Allergies in America study reported that 66% of allergy-sufferers say they’re not satisfied with their allergy treatments, so clearly something is wrong.
Why are my allergy medications not working?
There can be a lot of factors involved when it comes to your body's reaction to a drug. For starters, a change in your environment can worsen your allergy symptoms, making the medicine seem less effective. So things like air pollution, the change of seasons, and warm weather are all culprits when it comes to riling up your seasonal allergies. And, thanks to climate change, allergy seasons are only getting longer and more intense!
Another factor in medications not working as well could be the fact that you’ve developed a new allergy. Adding more allergens to your list of things to worry about is not uncommon - you can develop new allergies at any stage in your life!
Age and stress also play a role in your seasonal allergies. They can increase your sensitivity and create dramatic immune responses that you previously had never experienced. Because of this, medications that you took when you were younger and less stressed may not have the same effect.
The unreliability of over-the-counter allergy meds is one of the many reasons our team at Fluo Labs sought to create a drug-free alternative. People (myself included) are desperate for relief from seasonal allergy symptoms and traditional treatment methods just aren’t cutting it! To learn more about our revolutionary technology, head here!
If you found this piece interesting, read our previous piece on how climate change is wreaking havoc on our noses!