Good over the counter allergy meds?

11 comments

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2. Ask the chemist at the drug store. I usually go for antihistamines.

3. Honestly just walk into your local ENT clinic and get some subsidized prescription allergy meds. You’ll get more effective stuff for cheaper.

4. You have NHI, the trip to the doctor for prescription medication that will work better is cheaper than anything you can OTC.

5. First of all remember that going to the doctor and getting prescription medicines will be actually cheaper than buying OTC. As an American it blows my mind, but that’s just America being stupid.

   After you get your medicines, you probably have things like eyedrops, pills, nose sprays. Also wear a mask, and you can buy special goggles. My partner does all of these things and unfortunately it’s still a problem, but not as bad as without those.

   At the drugstore you can buy eyewash which seems to help as well.

6. Ibuprofen can help a surprising amount

7. It probably makes more sense to see a doc. Having said that, I have mild allergic rhinitis that comes and goes and I was used to self-medicating before I moved to Japan, so I was in your boat for a while. Contac Z, available on Amazon or at your corner drugstore, is Zyrtec by another name and doesn’t make me sleepy or anything. But different antihistamines work differently for different people… you can try your luck. I recently switched to Allermist (Flonase) nasal spray, which is prescription-only, and I get that from an ENT clinic.

8. Claritin is my best friend for the next 2 months. Last year I was stupidly buying packs of it at the drugstore; this year I went to the doctor and walked out with 3 months worth of pills, plus eye drops and nasal spray all for about 1200 yen (what I was paying for 1 pack of drugstore Claritin —and only about 10 pills).

9. アレグラFX is non drowsy and available over the counter. Google the name to see what the box looks like. It’s purple, available in 2 weeks or 4 weeks sizes. Careful not to get the kids one

10. Can you get generic allergy meds from Costco without a prescription?

11. アレグラ isn’t bad but honestly it’s cheaper to just go to the doc and get a prescription (if you have insurance).