<p>Does anyone have recommendations for a non-prescription alllergy medication that will alleviate congestion and phlegm in an athlete but won’t cause drowsiness or heart palpitations? Also, the drug can not compromise random drug testing (I think the original formula of Sudaphed is not allowed for student athletes, for instance). I do understand that individuals respond differently to drugs, but if 20 people on CC recommend one particular drug then it would be worth her trying it.</p>
<p>The medicines D has tried in the past have not worked particularly well. She has a big X-C meet on Sat. and wants to do her best and we have no time to fit in doctor’s visit to get a prescription before the weekend. Besides, I don’t think her symptoms are bad enough to require a prescription drug anyway. </p>
<p>I’d suggest having your D ask her coach and/or trainer. I’m sure she’s not the only athlete with allergies & they’ve had to resolve this problem for many patients/athletes. If your D has a regular doc & you explain the problem, they may be able to call in the prescription for whatever drug her coach and/or trainer recommends (our docs will do this for us).</p>
<p>Actually, for us, the prescription allergy meds work MUCH better than the over-the-counter ones & have fewer side effects, so don’t automatically discount them. With drug coverage, the price isn’t that much either. For us, we have had the most success with Zyrtec, but have also used Claritin and Allegra. For some reason, Zyrtec works best for those in this household. Be careful because if your D gets the formulation with the D (for decongestant), it has pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, which I believe is the same med in Sudafed & may not be allowed for athletes (which is why you need to check with the coach/trainer).</p>
<p>I echo HImom’s comments on prescription allergy meds working better than OTC. My sons have allergies, and a generic version of Allegra is working well for them. Claritin is now OTC, I believe, so you might try that if you can’t get to the doctor. The Allegra takes over a week to take effect, though, and I beleive that all of them take some time to work, so your D may not get some relief by the weekend. </p>
<p>I have no idea about the drug testing aspects, but I’m sure the coach will know something about this.</p>
<p>I’ve actually had the most luck with flonase…I started on Claritin (when it was prescription) went to Allegra…then two years ago had to step it up to flonase. But claritin should work just fine for a short-term, mild problem.</p>
<p>Another vote for going to the coach and also contacting the relevant conference/state sport organization to find out what is allowed. I would NEVER trust the opinions of a web community on a topic as specific as the eligibility requirements around drug usage … ask the authorities who will decide if is OK or not. I hate to be a pesimist but it seems virtually every olympics an American gets tossed for using a common medical drug that everyone thought would be OK … and that one call to the relevant officials would have told them it was not.</p>
<p>Nasal steroids take some time to be effective, so I’m not sure that would work for your D–in any case, she needs to check with the coach about that as well, or indeed anything that contains medications, including over-the-counter sprays.</p>
<p>At my school we’re supposed to go to the trainer when we get a prescription. Generally, something that we wouldn’t normally be allowed to take, like Sudafed, is okay if the trainers have a documented prescription, and they know the rules well.</p>
<p>nasal steroids are more effective than drugs but require time to work as HImom pointed out. There are also non steroid nasal sprays. We use ClaritanD as it is OTC. It is nothing but timed release sudafed and loratadine which are OTC and very cheap off brand. However, sudafed is now behind the counter due to misuse and abuse. A prescription is required for Claritan D if you have to refill often…one package per time period is allowed.<br>
Start with the national standards for runners and your coach.</p>
<p>What state? NJ has a new drug testing program but they only start random testing in the playoffs. I get some relief with nose sprays; can’t take any pills without side effects.</p>
<p>Update: called D’s doctor, as advised. Stressed the need for a medication that would not cause drowsiness, as D has to do loads of homework and run. She asked if we had tried Claritin. I told her yes. She asked for how long, I said several days. Wrong answer. My insurance co. won’t cover a prescription for allergy medication unless the patient has tried Claritin for 2 weeks and it hasn’t helped. Several of the other meds. the doctor considered first were not allowed for children (she’s 14) as they were 12-hour drugs.</p>
<p>In the end, the doctor decides to prescribe a cold medicine. After waiting forever at the pharmacy because the insurance company computer was not accepting the claim, I was handed the bottle. It had those bright labels on it–not only the warning about drowsiness, but a warning the medicine may cause dizziness too. I asked the pharmacist what he thought. He said all antihistamines can cause drowsiness, but the doctor is counting on the decongestant to counteract it. Made sense, since they tend to be stimulants. But he went on to say that the decongestant in this particular medicine was not very strong, so that may not work in actuality. Daughter saw the labels and does not want to risk taking it.</p>
<p>I’m trying to get confirmation about whether Sudafed is prohibited. The coach had said so, but the official info. the school sent home does not list that as one of the banned drugs.</p>
<p>NJres: The information we received from our school said testing can occur at any time. It did not mention just playoffs. Do you have an official reference for that fact? Since D’s the best runner in our conference, I expect she’ll be a likely target if they do test.</p>
<p>Edit: found the official policy, which seems to focus primarily on steroids.</p>
<p>Yes, they call it the NJSIAA Steroid Testing Policy, but there is a long long list of banned substances (including caffeine, in large amounts) and I believe they treat all positive tests equally. </p>
<p>This part means they only start testing during the playoffs, at least that is the general interpretation:</p>
<p>“A. Tested athletes will be selected randomly from all of those athletes participating in championship competition.”</p>
<p>Actually, I just noticed the list is banned “classes” of substances! I think testing is a good idea, but administration of this policy will be very difficult.
Here is the list… good luck avoiding every banned substance! </p>
<p>Almost missed this. At the very top of the policy, they start out with:
</p>
<p>To me that would limit testing to runners who will run in the meet of champions. However, individual schools are free to implement their own testing programs.</p>
<p>My son, a D-1 freshman athlete called this afternoon. He says he is “sorta sick” and it is “prolly fall allergies”. He tells me he is <em>not allowed</em> to go to the health center, but should see the trainer instead for all health issues, including “prolly fall allergies.” I told him to GO!</p>
<p>Obviously this is to prevent the kids being put on banned substances accidentally by the health center.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind for any athlete who may have respiratory issues - is to minimize/avoid the intake of any milk/dairy related products - as they have an affinity for creating mucous - just an FYI</p>
<p>Unless the individual has a lactose or dairy allergy, the researchers at the #1 respiratory hospital in the US, National Jewish Medical & Research Center say that milk creating mucous is just a very bad “old wives tale.” The milk may COAT existing mucous & make it more noticable, but it doesn’t CREATE mucous. They are very concerned that folks with respiratory conditions get enough calcium to keep their bones strong & work heard to help dispell the milk/mucous myth.</p>
<p>You need to find a doctor that treats athletes in that sport and knows what is to be avoided. Call the governing organization for the sport. The doctor can be long distance, but can give your kid’s doctor a comprehensive list. It then has to be cross checked against any personal issues your child’s health history holds and the exact nature of his current problem. It also has to be cross checked with the coach and athletic director’s list in case there are additional restricitons at that level of college competition. I recommend consulting with a doctor who treats top of the line athletes in the sport first, because those guys are experts in getting their patients well very quickly, and making sure they are not breaking any drug laws in the sport. There are not as many docs who specialize in college or highschool kids in a particular sport, as most, like your son rely on their regular sawbones. I did this for my son in college, and it was good I did so when he had some other problems later, as his advice made a big difference in how we proceded with a more major issue. He had suggestions thata are just not within radar range of a regular old doctor, even a specialist in that field. Elite athletes are often treated in some unique ways.</p>
<p>Having been a runner for a good majority of my pre-undergrad career in high school and such I’ve had a really hard time since moving into the south with coping with the escalation in pollen that seems to creep up in the spring. My fam D and I have even talked about looking at other avenues that I might need to start considering as constantly carrying a inhaler to the practice field is just becoming psychologically daunting. At 1st I didn’t really feel to keen about looking outside of field events as I have been dedicated to this for a majority of my adolescence but poking about on the web, like here a great article about athletes with allergies
<a href=“Daily RX”>Daily RX;
seems to be a growing trend with dr’s? As a runner I guess I am wondering how can I even begin to think about switching this late in my game, especially as I feel like with so many meds available out there I should be able to get a more aggressive treatment prescribed to me to address the underlying issues?</p>
<p>I sometime have seasonal allergies & I find taking benadryl at night, helps me sleep but also helps with my breathing during the day. ( I only take it at night)</p>