Antihistamines
and Their Side Effects
In this article we're going to discuss
the possible dangers and side effects of antihistamines
and what people should be aware of when taking
antihistamines to treat their
allergies.
In this article we're going to discuss
the possible dangers and side effects of antihistamines
and what people should be aware of when taking
antihistamines to treat their
allergies.
For the most part, antihistamines are
safe. Having said that, antihistamines can have
side effects which, if the antihistamine is not properly
administered, can be
serious.
The truth is, all medications have side
effects. Some are mild, as in the case of an
aspirin, unless you have stomach ulcers or aspirin
sensitivity and others are more serious such as the side
effects from chemotherapy, but for the most part,
antihistamine side effects are fairly mild. The
newest antihistamines are probably about the safest
medications that there are. But there are
differences between the various antihistamines and their
side effects.
The older antihistamines have the most
serious side effects. Because technology wasn't
where it is now, older antihistamines can make you very
sleepy, even to the point of falling asleep behind the
wheel of a car. The harsh truth is, antihistamines
have the same effect on your brain as alcohol. If
you've been keeping up with the latest news you'll notice
that people seem to be driving around in a drug induced
haze. This is becoming a very serious problem in
itself as there are no laws against driving while under
the influence of prescription medication. That is
most likely going to change very soon. According to
experts, there is no doubt in their mind that older
antihistamines can cause traffic
accidents.
But that isn't where the effect of
older antihistamines ends. They also affect
learning and exam performance. Studies show that
children with allergies who go to school after taking an
antihistamine have poorer test scores than children who
are not on antihistamines.
Another problem with older
antihistamines is that one of the side effects is that
people who use them sometimes have difficulty in passing
water. or have increased pressure in their
eyes. These symptoms, however, are very
rare.
With the newer antihistamines, most, if
not all of these side effects are a thing of the
past. We have certainly come a long way.
Therefore it is no longer necessary to use the older
antihistamines.
Many people ask, how do we know the
newer antihistamines are better? Actually, there are
studies that clinically show that they
are.
For starters, road safety studies were
done. Two control groups were used. The one
group was given older antihistamines and the other group
was given the newer improved antihistamines. The
results were staggering. The reaction time of the
old antihistamine group was slower, their turning was
more erratic, their attention was poor and in general
they did not drive as skilfully. In some cases
their driving was so bad and so dangerous that the test
itself had to be stopped.
Another study was done on children
going to school. Two control groups were again set
up. The group that was given the older
antihistamines had much lower test scores, sometimes as
much as 20 to 30 points lower. Many of the students
couldn't even finish their
exams.
The only downside of the newer
antihistamines, and for that matter any treatment of this
sort for allergies, is that they are not a cure and over
time a person can build up a resistance to a particular
antihistamine where it no longer works. A new one
then has to be given. The average length of time
that a person can take a particular antihistamine before
they have to move on to a new one is between 3 and 6
months.
Mr. Ezeoha has
delivered numerous articles on health matters, if you
like this article then you should read more of his work.
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