The FDA has announced a recall of four specific lots of cetirizine 5 mg tablets after they may have been accidentally contaminated with ranitidine during manufacturing.

This doesn't mean cetirizine itself is unsafe, and most products are not affected.

The main concern is for people who are allergic to ranitidine, as accidental exposure could trigger a serious allergic reaction.

Affected product:

• Cetirizine Hydrochloride 5 mg tablets
• 100-count bottles
• Exp. Oct 2028

Affected lot numbers:
• GY825029
• GY825030
• GY825031
• GY825032

If your bottle matches one of these lots, stop using it and contact your pharmacy or the manufacturer for guidance.

No injuries had been reported when the recall was announced, but it's always better to check than be caught off guard.

Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/allergy-medication-recalled-possible-drug-mix-up-trigger-life-threatening-reactions

My wife has severe dust allergies. It’s so severe that the use of an air purifier even circulating the air in our one bedroom apartment will close her airways.

Over the last six years, as her allergies have worsened, we have tried everything - from Austin, Coway, and Levoit air purifiers to MissionAllergy pillow cases and mattress covers to even vacuuming the air with our HEPA vacuum cleaner. They have all helped to a degree. We have no fabric in the apartment except a blanket to sleep under and towels in the bathroom - everything else is stored away.

She isn’t suitable for allergen immunotherapy, because she suddenly started going into anaphylaxis after a year of regular shots gradually building her up, and even after the dosage was halved and quartered. Antihistamines also have lost their effectiveness or have started contributing with some nasty gastric side effects. We’ve tried Advanced Allergy Therapy which provided some relief. She received Xolair in India for six months which provided the most sustained relief, but now we’re waiting to get insurance approval for Xolair in California.

All of this to say that her sensitivity to allergies are so severe that we’ve tried it all… and I wanted to share what I can see brought the most relief during various stages of her journey. Tip 1, 2 and 3 has brought her the most non-medicated relief.

Tip 1:
Remove all fabric, carpets and curtains from your home. If you rent, look for hard floors only. Do not leave your clothes out - store them in the cupboard or laundry basket. Less used clothes should be stored away to reduce the amount of fabric.

Tip 2:
Use a Bona Spray Mop with water (no chemicals added) to spray water into the air in our apartment… and then mop the floors. The water drags dust particles down faster than an air purifier can clear a dusty space. Whenever my wife complains that her throat or ears are getting itchy, I spray the air down and mop (usually once or twice a day).

Tip 3:
Invest in a Navage Nasal Rinse, and rinse out your sinuses when you return from the outside. If you’re in the US, Costco has a deal for the Nasal Rinse, 1 month supply of pods, a bathroom stand, and cleaning equipment for $99.99 (HSA eligible).

Tip 4:
Air purifiers are great, but just be aware that it is circulating the dust around in the apartment as well as filtering it. So it’s better to blast it when you’re heading out, have it time out after a little bit so that whatever dust remains can settle before you return home, and then mop it away. Otherwise, keep your air purifier as low as possible to prevent it circulating so much to trigger you.

Tip 5:
If you can afford it, do laundry at a laundromat or have your laundry machine spaced as far away from your living area or sleeping area. The dryer is the single largest source of dust in every apartment or home we have lived in, and so I take our laundry to a laundromat and finish our week’s laundry in 1/4 of the time. If you do laundry at home, I recommend deep cleaning immediately after your last dryer load.

Tip 6:
MissionAllergy is a godsend, and worth investing into. Go a step further if you can afford it and invest in a leather sheet from Etsy. We have had ours for three years now, and it has made a world of difference.

Tip 7:
If you have long hair, as my wife does, washing your hair every day isn’t always possible. Washing your hair does help rid of any dust or pollen you will have picked up from outside or in your home - but on the days where you can’t or don’t have the energy for, use the vacuum cleaner nozzle to (as silly as it sounds) vacuum your hair for 5 seconds.

Tip 8:
A robot vacuum and mop is a great investment if you live alone, struggle with energy, and need a little extra support keeping dust levels low in your home. It’s not as quick as mopping the air and your floor yourself, but after seeing my wife for the past few years, you need to give yourself all the grace in the world with dust allergies.

I hope this helps others figure out their home protocols. If you are suffering with dust allergies, I am so sorry. It is the worst, and I genuinely hope something from our experience helps improve your quality of life even a little.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Im develiping allergies to ecen safe food , anyone else?

i’m hoping someone can provide a bit of insight or advice. i recently had to work from home for around two weeks because of a mild concussion. i have a significant dog allergy, and there are dogs constantly
overtaking our office. i’ve gotten used to it at this point, but since i’ve been back, i’ve been battling a persistent sore throat and congestion. i’ve also had some itchy hands but i think it’s dryness from a lot of recent dishwashing.

the thing is my apartment wall units/HVAC were recently given a deep clean because of a big mold problem. once they were cleaned my roommate and i have felt so much better, but now this is happening and worrying me that there’s a larger mold problem
afoot. but i know from allergy testing earlier this year that i’m not technically allergic to mold.

but some of my coworkers have complained of sore throats recently and they’re still coming in and potentially getting people sick. sometimes the symptoms get better at work, once i’m out of my house, but my xyzal generally barely touches this and by the time evening hits i feel it all again.

could it be a readjustment to being around dogs, or honestly just being sick and my body is having a harder time fighting it while it fights off the allergy too? if i’m remembering correctly this definitely all started around when i got back to work / my boss returned with his enormous shedding dog. would love any insight.

I have a dust allergy. I recently realized the areas under my bed and couch probably weren't getting cleaned nearly as often as I thought. It made me wonder if those hidden spots were part of the problem.
I started running my deebot robot vacuum every two days to keep up with the dust and pet hair before they have a chance to build up. Since it's slim enough to fit under my bed and couch, those hidden areas are actually getting cleaned now instead of collecting dust for weeks.

It's not a replacement for deep cleaning, but the house just feels cleaner between my weekend cleans. Maybe it's just in my head, but I feel like my dust allergy has been a little less annoying since I started paying more attention to those areas.

Some background: I’m 43, no known allergies. In 2017 or 2018 I went through a phase where I was regularly breaking out in hives. One time during that “era” I had lip swelling and diarrhea. I took Benadryl and it resolved on its own. Eventually I stopped having hives and I never found out a cause. Two weeks ago I had intense itchy in my eye and rubbed it very vigorously. My conjunctiva swelled severely in a matter of like seconds and my eye was swollen almost shut. Went to the ER and they just treated me with OTC antihistamine/mast cell drops and told me to take otc oral antihistamine. It improved in a couple of days. HOWEVER that incident and that ugly word mast cells reignited my serious phobia of anaphylaxis. I’ve spent years debilitated by panic disorder and in the past few years I’ve been practically symptom-free, but now I feel like I’m back at square one. I know I don’t want to live obsessing about this, but I also want to know what did people who don’t have EpiPens do the first time they experienced it? How do you deal with things like being far from a hospital? I cut what was supposed to be a relaxing cabin vacation for my bday short bc I was so anxious about being too far from an ER “in case” something happened and fixated on my throat sensations the whole time. Help!

ive been getting allergy shots for 10 months now and taking allerga and Xyzal and I have been having flairs like once a month the post nasal drip the sneezing the headaches my dr wants me to take prednisone for 3 days has anyone ever got prescribed it did it work is it worth it to take reading the side effects got me worried she also took my blood yesterday and did an h pylori test ,

Like the title says, I get triggered by any of these with severe itchiness at times with redness and flushing on my face, neck and chest. Areas of my face become very itchy and red. Neck and chest get red streaks that itch like crazy. Anxiety causes the same thing, or eating hot food. At times too, cleaning around or bending for more than 10, 15secs it happens. It doesn’t happen every and each time I do any of these things, but most of the time. Like 80% of the time.

I need to put cool water on all those spots or drink cold water or just sit still until it goes away. It takes about 10mins or more for all of it to calm down. Sometimes tiny red spots or bumps that appear during the episode. They do go away though shortly after. But the itchiness drive me so crazy.

I’m 36, and this been going on for years. I kind of got used to it and thought it’s common. But I’m really getting so sick of it and tired. Sometimes cold air when it’s windy but sunny/light hits my skin this happens. I hate leaving the house during the day, like hate it!!! Nights are like heaven for me.

Can anyone relate to this? What could it be? I googled a bit, says it might be Cholinergic urticaria, or histamine release related to heat. Would Zyrtec help with this? Or what should I do?

I made an appointment with my PC to be referred to an allergist, it’ll take sometime till then. Please if someone is or went through something similar!

Crossposting this in some medical subreddits bc I'm at a loss and tired of dealing w it. I know this is long, but I've never posted here before, so want to be thorough. For background, I am 30, ftm, and have some autoimmune issues. I currently take hydroxychloroquine (a mild immunosuppressant for rheum. arthritis), and I have been GF since celiac diagnosis 4 years ago.

Symptoms: Since about March, I have had a chronic sore throat. It is not severe enough to prevent eating, drinking, swallowing pills, or speaking, it feels more like the day before you know for sure you have a cold, just annoying. 2/10 pain. There are no patches or pus seen on my throat, only inflammation. My nose is often itchy, and I blow my nose more frequently than usual, always producing green mucus and often blood, though it is never a dripping nosebleed. The last 2 months I had angular cheilitis (cracked+chapped lip corners) on the left, and later on right, sides of the mouth, which finally just went away. I was constantly applying lip balm, then a few weeks of antifungal cream, but hydrocortizone cleared it up in a couple of days. Sometimes, usually at night, I feel sinus pressure that makes it difficult to breath from my nose, even with no apparent mucus. One doctor felt my throat lymph nodes and said they were slightly swollen. I thought these may be related just because the mouth, throat, nose, and sinuses are all connected.

Treatments/tests: I got a negative flu and covid test right when this started, later a negative strep test, negative throat culture, and negative STI tests. These seem like allergy symptoms, but I tried generic allegra and claritin, and it doesn't seem like either helped after about a week of each. I also have fewer symptoms outdoors compared to in my home. They mostly went away while visiting family last week, but they came back the day I got home. I have not noticed any signs of leaks mold or insects, I've never known of any allergies (celiac isn't technically an allergy, and my home is also fully GF), and I hadn't been eating/taking/wearing anything new when this started. I wouldn't know how to start on determining the trigger.

What could possibly be irritating my throat/sinuses, and how do I make this go away? Any help is appreciated.

I just received my blood test results and I’ve always known I was allergic to dust and pollen. Lately I have been waking up with a headache everyday, get 3 sinus infections a year, and reoccurring bacterial infections.

Is this just an allergy or indicative of a bigger issue?

When I feel depressed I sometimes also develop itchy skin or hives. What's strange is that when I take an antihistamine, not only do the itching and hives improve, but my low mood seems to go away as well.

I don't know what's causing the allergic reaction, and I'm worried that if I tell a doctor about the depression, they'll focus only on my mental health and overlook the allergy symptoms.

Is there any known connection between allergies (or histamine) and depression or low mood? Has anyone experienced something similar?

My mom will be having her allergy test on Saturday and the doctor asked her to stop medications for at least 3 days. However, after stopping for 2 days her lips are swelling. What could she possibly do? Is there other way to do the allergy test?

So I've noticed that for about the past 3 years, I've felt incredibly itchy during certain seasons, specifically spring and winter, but also summer and autumn, just less frequently or severely. The symptoms seem to be more reactive if I have a shower close to before I leave, but also on days where I go out later or haven't showered, the itchiness is less reactive but still there. My thoughts about that is I might be having my shower too hot, drying my skin.

I think my whole life I've had a very strong stress response where I break out into itchiness, which then is made worse by the feeling of itchiness stressing me out, which is the exact same way I feel when I go outside. Also, when in direct sunlight, I feel very itchy, which can add to my feelings when going outside. I'm unsure if it's a placebo of stress when I'm in the sun, as I am very pale and don't like being in the sunlight I think it's a bit of both. But it's also more than just the sun because I experience it on night walks.

I live near a botanic garden with hundreds of species of plants, which I walk through or past when I go out usually, so that makes me think it could have to do with pollen or something in the air. Which is also where I usually feel the symptoms the strongest as I'm passing the garden, but usually before or after or nowhere near I feel it, but less strong.

I tend to only be itchy on my chest, belly and back, which is the worst and rarely on my legs. I feel crazy on my initial walk out because for 10 minutes I'm frantically itching, I just have to stop myself when someone walks by, as I would feel bad freaking someone out because I feel I look insane and when I get to some shade or indoors, I just have to destress and calm down every time. It feels like my skin needs to adjust to the outside environment every time I go out.

My thoughts are that all these cause it, hot shower, pollen, sun and stress. Because it does seem to be worse when all of them are taking effect. But sometimes I think it has to be a placebo because I can't find any explanation online, is this an understood condition?

I am on no medication and don't have any know health conditions.

does anyone else have their eustachian tubes closed from seasonal allergies? I feel like allergies have been so much worse this year compared to past years. I’m dealing with my eustachian tubes being closed which is normal for me come spring. this year I’ve noticed along with my closed eustachian tubes that I have this kinda weird sensation in my mouth. it’s not really a dry mouth it’s just a weird feeling. it’s not in one specific spot either, it kinda moves around. i’ve just recently started taking some allergy meds to see if this helps it go away. anyone else experiencing something similar?

Hello all. I came here to ask for help with something small. I suffer from bad allergies and recently ran out of OTC medication for them. I used the last of my money and cannot get any more. I have no job and no way of getting money right now since I've sold everything I could and while I still live with my parents they cut me off. I have $0.36 in my bank account and would need $6 to be able to buy a 24 pack which would last me a while. I know this is a funny request but I have been suffering from allergies and would be happy to have some relief for a while. I don't have enough karma to post on r/assistance and any help would mean so much to me.

I just moved about 25 minutes south of where I used to live. So same climate. Within minutes of entering my new apartment my eyes get dry and irritated, my nose gets clogged and my throat closes up. It’s miserable. It’s clean and a nice building so I never would have thought this would be an issue. I’ve cleaned and wiped down everywhere. I have air purifiers running. They’re going to come clean out my air ducts. Is there anything else to do? I truly have no idea what’s causing the issue, the leasing office told me they’ve never had a complaint like this before. It’s been 2 weeks and I dread having to be in my apartment. Getting very worried about how this next year is going to look. Any advice on where else to look for solutions?

Hi all, for the past months I've been dealing with very dry and peely lips ever since I had an allergic reaction to my toothpaste.
I went to a dermatologist for the first time yesterday and she recommended me to do a allergy patch test and said she can't help me with my dry lips at all until I do one.

This my first time ever having to do one and I am a bit confused about the process I suppose?
She told me I'll have to stick some stuff to my back and keep them on for 3 days, to which I'll have to come back, do it again and keep for 3 days and then once more?
She also has told me that I can not shower during this time and that I should look to do the allergy patch test in winter as I can't shower and not showering with during summer would be not a good idea.

I'm just confused because it is my first time doing it and I'm wondering if this is the normal way of going about it? I'm not very well informed with patch testing and she didn't seem interested in answering my questions as she seemed in a rush.

Constantly my nose is running and clearly don’t wanna be sick anymore, help a girly out

Hi, I started on my strong vial of sublingual allergy drops about 8 weeks ago. 7 weeks ago I started getting stomach cramping and diarrhea. I'm wondering if the drops are causing that?

Possibly a dumb question, but I'm curious. I grew up in an American expat family living in Eastern Europe. We pretty much never went to the doctor and never took antibiotics (mid 90s, post-communist...hospitals/clinics were rough to say the least). When i was a teenager we moved back to the US. Since then I've probably taken a half dozen different antibiotics over the years and am allergic to almost every single one (no other allergies though).

Fast forward to the present. My 3 month old just came down with an ear infection and was prescribed amoxicillin, one of the antibiotics I'm allergic to. It made me start wondering if I'd been exposed to more antibiotics as a kid, would i not be allergic to them now? I know early exposure is recommended for kids for food allergens, but does it work with drugs?

I should probably add, I'm not planning on pumping my kid with medicine just to avoid drug allergies! I'm just curious how this works.