Is CLARINEX® Right for You?
Taken once-a-day, CLARINEX® provides effective relief from the symptoms of seasonal and year-round allergies in adults and children age 12 years and older.
In studies, side effects were comparable to a sugar pill. CLARINEX® is nonsedating when taken at the recommended doses.
Taken once a day, CLARINEX® offers 24 hours of relief—so when you take it in the morning you can wake up the next day with your symptoms under control.
Side effects with CLARINEX® (desloratadine) Tablets 5 mg are similar to sugar pill, including sore throat, dry mouth and fatigue.
Ask your doctor or other healthcare provider for more information about CLARINEX® and whether it may be right for you.
How Does It Work?
CLARINEX® works by blocking the action of histamine released by the immune system, thus relieving some of the important allergy symptoms. When you are exposed to an allergen, a specific type of white blood cell called the mast cell, which is located in the membrane lining the nose and sinuses, releases a chemical called histamine. Histamine attaches to its site of action called receptors on nearby blood vessels, causing them to dilate or enlarge, leading to redness, swelling, itching, and changes in the secretions.
Antihistamines block the histamine receptors, preventing these membrane changes and the resulting symptoms. Antihistamines also block histamine from stimulating nerve endings, which can cause itching and other symptoms.
Unlike some over-the-counter and prescription antihistamines, at the recommended dose, CLARINEX® does not cause drowsiness, which is important for patients with active lifestyles who drive, operate equipment or machines. In clinical studies, the incidence of drowsiness with CLARINEX® was similar to that of a placebo or sugar pill at the recommended dose. In large-scale clinical studies of patients with allergic rhinitis, the most common side effects with CLARINEX® occurred about as often as they did with a placebo, including sore throat, dry mouth and fatigue.
What are Allergies?
How Allergies Develop
The Histamine Connection
Pollen and Allergies
Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis or Hayfever
Perennial allergies
What are Allergies?
Simply put, an allergy is a response by your body to something that is ordinarily harmless. The purpose of the immune system is to recognize harmful infection-causing invaders and to get rid of them. However, for some people, the immune system overreacts to ordinarily harmless substances like indoor allergens such as pet dander, pollen, dust, and mold and outdoor allergens such as pollen from grass, trees and weeds. These people have "allergies." Their bodies attempt to expel these ordinarily harmless substances, causing sneezing; a runny nose; itchy, watery eyes and sometimes hives.
How Allergies Develop
Why do you develop allergies? Nobody knows for sure, although the tendency to develop allergies can be inherited from your parents. If one parent has allergic disease, the estimated risk of the child to develop allergies is 26%. The child's estimated risk grows to 52% if both parents have a history of allergy.
Scientists do know how a person develops allergies. The first thing that happens is you are exposed to a particular substance-for example, pollen from a ragweed plant. This substance makes its way to your nose, where your immune system detects it and, considering it a harmful invader, creates antibodies to fight that particular substance. These antibodies stay in your system, prepared for the next time they encounter that same allergen.
The Histamine Connection
The next time you breathe ragweed pollen in - and every time after that - your body will manufacture more antibodies to fight it off. The antibodies stimulate cells ("mast cells") in the linings of your nose, eyes, throat, and lungs to release a chemical known as histamine. Histamine attaches to nearby blood vessels, causing them to swell, and secrete more fluid than usual. Histamine can also irritate nearby nerve endings, causing itching. Ultimately, histamine causes symptoms such as sneezing; itchy, watery eyes, and a runny nose. These symptoms are simply your body's attempt to expel the pollen it wrongly assumes is dangerous.
Pollen and Allergies
Nearly 50 million Americans have some form of allergy. For some of these people, symptoms come and go with the pollination seasons of certain trees, grasses, or weeds. Pollen levels from these plants can vary day to day, depending upon several factors, including the weather. High pollen levels can, in turn, affect the severity of symptoms you experience. Seasonal allergies affect about 35 million Americans.
Look for typical Allergens Where You Live
You can view the Pollen and Weather Forecast to see how your allergies may be affected within the next few days or we can tell you prior to high levels in your area when you Subscribe to the Pollen Alert
Allergic Rhinitis
The term "allergic rhinitis," when translated, literally means "inflammation of the nose." (The term "rhinitis" is derived by combining the Greek word for nose ("rhinos") with the term "itis," which means inflammation.)
Seasonal allergic rhinitis has also been referred to as "hay fever," which is very misleading considering the fact that it has nothing to do with hay or a fever. Dr. John Bostock, a British physician who suffered from allergies and noted a correlation between his symptoms and the British haying season, coined the term in the early 1800s.
Perennial allergies
When allergy symptoms are caused by year-round allergens, the condition is termed "perennial rhinitis."
Important allergens that should be avoided include the following:
Dust mites, specifically mite feces, which are coated with enzymes that contain a powerful allergen. These are the primary allergens in the home.
Animal dander (flakes of skin) and hair, including from cats and dogs. Cats pose the greatest risk of all common pets.
Molds
Cockroaches are major allergy triggers
If you suffer from allergies, it is important to keep in mind that your symptoms may be caused by more than one substance-or a mixture of both perennial and seasonal allergens. In fact, that's why it can be tricky to avoid the things that trigger your allergies!
