| If there's one thing that's clear, it's that climate change is making my wardrobe — and my allergies — harder to navigate. I used to know when to pull out my winter clothes, but these days temperatures reach summer levels well into fall. My coworker, Robert Langreth, always finds it amusing when I complain about the cold. He's far more adapted to Eastern US temperatures than I am. And I wake up sniffling from allergies from August through January, a seemingly never-ending cycle. According to the CDC, nearly 26% of US adults suffer from at least one seasonal allergy. So it's no surprise that, from fall to spring, I'm a Zyrtec regular. Some of my friends even take it year-round, with their doctors' approval. It's not just my sinuses that are struggling. Juanita Mora, an immunologist at the Chicago Allergy Center, says climate change is throwing off the predictable patterns of seasonal allergies. "If I had a dollar for every patient who told me this year, 'I've never had symptoms this bad,' I'd be a rich woman," Mora says. While antihistamines like Zyrtec are typically needed in spring, the erratic weather is now making it harder to stop taking them as the seasons blur. Mora's practice in Chicago reflects this shift: Last winter, the city saw just three days of snow, with 70-degree temps in February. Pollen and mold now hang around all year, leading to increased symptoms like sinus infections, asthma flare-ups and even more frequent allergy shots. Which brings us to the question: Is it safe to take Zyrtec every day? According to Mora, antihistamines are generally low-risk, even for children. The standard 10-milligram dose of Zyrtec is mild, making it safe for long-term use, though doctors still monitor for side effects like drowsiness, especially for those in jobs requiring alertness. Claritin, another over-the-counter antihistamine, is also considered a safe medication. It's usually the first route of treatment for patients with allergies, because it's considered the milder option compared to Zyrtec, Mora says. And these drugs may be hard to stop. Skylar Sorkin, shared her experience of taking Zyrtec every day for 20 years in a TikTok video. She warned that if you do want to cut back, "don't go off it cold turkey," as the withdrawal can be intense. Since the changing climate makes it harder to predict when we'll need antihistamines, and doctors say taking Zyrtec every day is generally fine, those of us on the drug should probably stay put. — Rthvika Suvarna | 
No comments:
Post a Comment