Allergy Woes

For the past couple of weeks, I've been battling what seems to be a combination of bad seasonal allergies and a possible cold. I had to go into the doctor since I was having trouble sleeping due to coughing and congestion at night. I did get prescribed an anti-cough medicine at bedtime, but otherwise I was left to my own devices to rest and recover.

Things that help my allergies the most are:

1. Neti pot. I use non-iodized table salt and boiling water in my neti pot, purchased from a local co-op. It takes a while to learn how to use the neti pot effectively, but it does feel great to run warm water through my sinuses to clear them out. 

2. Luden's cough drops. I buy the small boxes of both the cherry and honey lemon flavors, since they use less packaging. They're about $1 at most drugstores and are compact enough to easily fit in my purse. They taste good while actually helping with my cough. 

3. Doubling up on pillows. This doesn't always make my back feel great, but it does clear my airways. I stack two pillows and make sure to fluff them in order to raise my upper body a little higher. 

4. Switching up allergy meds. I've used Claritin for a long time, but the doctor recommended trying out a different antihistamine for the time being to see if it's more effective for me. I switched to Zyrtec in addition to Flonase, which has been working well. 

I'm doing much better this week, even though my cough seems to be lingering in the morning and late at night.