If you are indeed allergic then you most probably use various types of allergy medicine to treat your allergy and its often-times annoying and potentially fatal symptoms. A very good advice might be to try to avoid any allergens you might be sensitive to if these are correctly identified. Antihistamines are the major group of chemicals that are used as allergy medicine. Histamine is a type of chemical that is released at some stage in an allergic reaction and anti histamines are used to curb their effect.

Other classes of allergy medicine are medications based on anticholinergics, mast cell stabilizers, and decongestants; these types of allergy medicines are also used to prevent or take care of allergy symptoms. Another type of allergy medicine is corticosteroids. Any type of allergy medicine can be found in different forms like pills, eye drops and nasal sprays.

When you have an allergy you must find a type of allergy medicine that will work for you and your allergy. If you only have a mild allergy then an over the counter allergy medicine will work fine. However if you have a severe allergy, like if you're allergic to shellfish for example, an over the counter allergy medicine will not work. To treat a severe allergy you'll need a prescription from a doctor, and in order to get such a prescription you'll need to get tested to find out what exactly you are allergic to.

When you are getting tested for allergies, they will have to test many different substances in order to pinpoint what you are allergic to. During the allergy tests, they'll inject you with several different substances, usually down the length of your spine. These can be anything from plain products like grass to dander to even dust. They're looking for a reaction. If you are indeed allergic to a substance, your skin will become red and raised at the injection site. This is a sure sign that you are allergic and once they know what you are allergic to, they can prescribe the correct allergy medicine.

If the cause of the allergy is known then it is advisable to use anti-allergens as allergy medicine since they are a tried and tested formula and they are known to be repetitive in their effect. But if the source of the allergic symptoms is not known, it is recommended to take advice from medical professionals regarding the appropriate allergy medicine for your particular case. Nowadays allergy medicine comes in many different types of products so it is necessary to read the labels on these medications thoroughly and only take them if they're prescribed by your doctor.

When you're pondering taking allergy medicine the different side effects need to be taken into consideration since some of these may directly affect your normal life. A common side effect of anti histamines is drowsiness but there are some new anti histamines that are non-sedative and hence will not affect your mental alertness. One particular allergy medicine that is known to cause high levels of drowsiness is Cetirizine, so this anti-allergen could be potentially hazardous.

Most allergy medicine is usually safe for most people, but if you suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes or any such ailment, it would be a good idea to ask your doctor regarding the safest anti allergen that can be consumed. Pregnant women and lactating mothers should not take any type of allergy medicine without consulting their doctor.