Treating and Managing Springtime Allergies & Crohn's Simultaneously

I've had seasonal allergies since I was a child. I never assumed it was spring because the geese came back or the tulips started coming up; I knew it was spring when I started sneezing and my eyes turned red and swelled up. When I developed Crohn's disease, seasonal allergies took on a whole new meaning.

My bouts of explosive sneezes do not mix well with a Crohn's flare. It's very difficult to control sphincter muscles when you're sneezing uncontrollably, and it can result in embarrassing moments, to say the least.

Until the last few years, most antihistamines caused drowsiness. If you're having a Crohn's flare, you're already tired. The constant need for a bathroom and the pain of abdominal cramping, which eventually leads to back pain as well, only adds to the fatigue. And most people with Crohn's have good reason to fear sleep mid-flare, when diarrhea sometimes just seems to "happen" whether you're aware of it or not.

The other problem with older antihistamines and decongestants is that they tend to act as a diuretic. Now this may sound like a good thing to someone who's in the grip of liquid diarrhea, but in fact it's just the opposite. When you have diarrhea, you need to add fluid to your body to replace what you're losing. It makes staying well-hydrated that much more difficult when an antihistamine is sucking up all the water that is in your tissues or that you drink. Having more water in your system not only is good from the point of hydration, but it can also make passing stools more comfortable.

One upside to severe allergies with Crohn's is that in some cases, allergies can be controlled for the season with an injection of a corticosteroid. Steroids are often used in Crohn's disease, although they may be given orally. A steroid injection can help the allergies as well as some Crohn's symptoms.

Some of the newer allergy medicines are nasal sprays and eye drops. The advantage to these for patients with any other illness, whether Crohn's or something else, is that these medications treat mainly the affected areas (nose, eyes) and very little goes into the blood system or digestive tract. If your spring allergies cause a cough while you're having a Crohn's flare, you may want to avoid cough syrups containing codeine. The main function of codeine in cough syrup is to help you sleep through the night. The codeine, though, has a possible side effect of irritating your stomach lining, which may already be irritated by Crohn's disease.

Another potential allergy treatment that shouldn't cause adverse interaction with your Crohn's medicines or affect your Crohn's symptoms are homeopathic allergy medications, which can be found at most health food stores. I used one when I lived in Nevada and it worked better and faster, and lasted longer, than any other type of medication I've tried. Unfortunately I can't remember the name, just what the bottle looked like, and I haven't been able to find in since I left Nevada.

Remicade^TM is a drug often prescribed for Crohn's patients, as well as those with rheumatoid arthritis. There are no indications yet that any antihistamines have adverse reactions with Remicade^TM. Still, before taking even an over-the-counter antihistamine for your allergies, you should check with your doctor or pharmacist to make sure there will be no problems with interaction between the antihistamines and any of your other medications.

If you can control your Crohn's disease and avoid a flare by taking medication, eating the diet that works best for you, and reducing the stress in your life, and at the same time treat your allergies either with oral antihistamines, a steroid injection, or symptomatic treatments applied directly to the nose and/or eyes, you'll probably survive the spring allergy season without too many problems.