4 Things That Can Happen To The Body If You Often Take Anti-Alergy Drugs

JAKARTA - If you experience severe allergic symptoms at almost any time, you most likely take antihistamine or anti-ergic drugs to help relieve these allergic symptoms. Antihistamine, also known as the 'H-1 receptor antagonist' or H-1 inhibitor is a drug that helps treat allergies by blocking histamins. Chemicals released by the immune system when encountering allergens such as circumstellar powder or pet hair, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Although these drugs are good for controlling symptoms such as runny eyes and runny noses, these drugs can also pose risks.

This may make you wonder if taking an allergic drug every day can have a bad impact, especially if the allergy is chronic? The answer depends on the type of antihistamin consumed.

Allergists share the possibility of long-term antihistamine usage risks, reported by Livestrong, Wednesday, December 20.

Although not an antihistamin (or technically an allergic drug), many people turn to nasal spray drugs like Afrin when allergies cause sinuses to become clogged. Afrin is a decongestant spray that shrinks blood vessels swollen in the nasal tract, according to the National Library of Medicine.

But if you use this type of spray too often, then suddenly stops, the nose can become clogged again and even most likely become more severe. This condition is called medicamentosa, and occurs due to the use of nasal decongestants for more than three days, according to Houston Methodist.

"The more often you use nasal spray, the worse your symptoms will be," said Sandra Gawkik, DO, FCP, Pennsylvania-based allergy and member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

"Although regular antihistamines will not cause the nose to become clogged again, they also cannot handle the feeling of congestion properly," said Asriani M. Chiu, MD, director of asthma and allergies clinics in Children's Wisconsin.

To avoid congestion nose again, try to limit the number of dekongestan nasal spray drugs used. Or talk to your doctor about how often you use them. Also try to avoid active ingredients such as the oxymethazoline (Afrin), which can cause nasal congestion according to Houston Methodist.

Instead, try a spray called nasal corticosteroid (such as a fluctuation or Flonase), which is safe to use every day, says Dr. Chiu.

Antihistamine can dry your digestive tract, says Dr. Chiu. This drying effect has something to do with the drug blocking your collinergic receptor (one of the main neurotransmitters in the nervous system), says Dr. Gawkik.

Drought means less water in the intestines that can cause stuffy intestines (that is constipation). Convoluted more often occurs in the first generation of antihistamine and/or if you use dekongestan, says Dr. Gawkik.

The dry effects of the body that cause constipation can also cause dryness in other parts of the body. It's true, some people may experience dry mouth, nose, or throat when consuming antihistamine regularly. It can even cause vaginal dryness, says Dr. Chiu.

"This mainly applies to people who are prone to dry body conditions," says Dr. Gawkik. For example, people with Sjogren syndrome autoimmune disease that causes dry eyes and mouth are more prone to drought due to the use of allergic drugs every day," he said.

Others who are prone to a whole body drought are adults over the age of 65 and those who are in postmenopaus, Dr. Gawkik added.

If you are used to taking allergic drugs, then you may be tempted to take more drugs than usual to treat symptoms during the allergic season. But every time you take too much medicine, there is always the possibility of danger, including the risk of an overdose.

"If you consume more than a standard dose, the risk of side effects increases," says Dr. Gawkik.

Consuming two or three times more than the 'normal' dose can cause the following problems in some people, according to Dr. Gawkik:

Although the possibility of an overdose is greater in the first generation of antihistamine. But there is still the risk of an overdose on a second generation drug, says Dr. Gawkik.