22 ms·

Yet I manage to totally suppress hay fever symptoms with mega doses of vitamin C. Something I can't do with Cetirizin or other "real" drugs (they make me sleep

Yet I manage to totally suppress hay fever symptoms with mega doses of vitamin C. Something I can't do with Cetirizin or other "real" drugs (they make me sleepy too).

0x45696e6172 9y ago
What makes you sleepy is that the drugs cross the blood-brain barrier. Newer drugs containing fexofenadine do not have that side effect.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  Cetirizine is also a newer drug and is not supposed to cross the blood-brain barrier as much.
sz4kerto 9y ago
Tip: try to lower your carbs intake to below 30-40 grams/day. My hay fever disappears after 3 days of low-carb diet (I tried this diet just for fun, and now I skip carbs for 2-3 weeks every spring and I don't need antihistamines at all.)
- kaybe 9y ago
  Do you have more information on this?
  - wincy 9y ago
    Sorry, also anecdata, but I've experienced a similar result. Was on daily allergy pills, eye twitches during allergy season, that sort of stuff, and started a low carb diet, my skin cleared up and I stop being so damned itchy. I suspect it's because the diet eliminates some foods that I'm allergic/sensitive to (how could it not with how many foods it necessitates cutting out?), so the causation might not actually be the low carb diet, as some vegans claim a similar result. In that context it stands to reason that both sets of dieters are finding existing sensitivities and chalking up the gains to the diet. I found out that for me glutamate, both from natural and artificial sources, causes substantial headaches, which is a bummer because I love bone broth. Beans also give me restless legs at night. So while it's hard to be absolutely scientific in your everyday life, it doesn't mean it's impossible to glean any sort of improvement in your health and well-being through personal experimentation.
    - pinko 9y ago
      > So while it's hard to be absolutely scientific in your everyday life, it doesn't mean it's impossible to glean any sort of improvement in your health and well-being through personal experimentation. This is something I'll always be grateful to the equal parts brilliant and crazy, late Seth Roberts for teaching me. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2964443/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2964443/
AstralStorm 9y ago
Did you happen to blind test its efficacy in your specific case as well? Hay fever like many immune disorders has its phases, triggers and changes...
aretaic 9y ago
I am curious, I suffer from hay fever as well. How much do you take?
- jmnicolas 9y ago
  About one gram every 2 hours. I never tried to take less than 1 gram since my spoon is dosing at one gram (I take it in powder form).
jopuwep12489 9y ago
Cool, a data point.

Yet I manage to totally suppress hay fever symptoms with mega doses of vitamin C. Something I can't do with Cetirizin or other "real" drugs (they make me sleepy too).

0x45696e6172 9y ago

What makes you sleepy is that the drugs cross the blood-brain barrier. Newer drugs containing fexofenadine do not have that side effect.

maxerickson 9y ago
Cetirizine is also a newer drug and is not supposed to cross the blood-brain barrier as much.

sz4kerto 9y ago

Tip: try to lower your carbs intake to below 30-40 grams/day. My hay fever disappears after 3 days of low-carb diet (I tried this diet just for fun, and now I skip carbs for 2-3 weeks every spring and I don't need antihistamines at all.)

kaybe 9y ago
Do you have more information on this?
- wincy 9y ago
  Sorry, also anecdata, but I've experienced a similar result. Was on daily allergy pills, eye twitches during allergy season, that sort of stuff, and started a low carb diet, my skin cleared up and I stop being so damned itchy. I suspect it's because the diet eliminates some foods that I'm allergic/sensitive to (how could it not with how many foods it necessitates cutting out?), so the causation might not actually be the low carb diet, as some vegans claim a similar result. In that context it stands to reason that both sets of dieters are finding existing sensitivities and chalking up the gains to the diet. I found out that for me glutamate, both from natural and artificial sources, causes substantial headaches, which is a bummer because I love bone broth. Beans also give me restless legs at night. So while it's hard to be absolutely scientific in your everyday life, it doesn't mean it's impossible to glean any sort of improvement in your health and well-being through personal experimentation.
  - pinko 9y ago
    > So while it's hard to be absolutely scientific in your everyday life, it doesn't mean it's impossible to glean any sort of improvement in your health and well-being through personal experimentation. This is something I'll always be grateful to the equal parts brilliant and crazy, late Seth Roberts for teaching me. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2964443/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2964443/

AstralStorm 9y ago

Did you happen to blind test its efficacy in your specific case as well? Hay fever like many immune disorders has its phases, triggers and changes...

aretaic 9y ago

I am curious, I suffer from hay fever as well. How much do you take?

jmnicolas 9y ago
About one gram every 2 hours. I never tried to take less than 1 gram since my spoon is dosing at one gram (I take it in powder form).

jopuwep12489 9y ago

Cool, a data point.