Nasal Crom Nasal Allergy Spray, 0.88 Ounce,

Works well for me.

Do not waste your money to buy this spray. It is not really helping.

Bottom line: This stuff works. It changed my life. For the first time in DECADES, I can live a normal life. I’d forgotten what normal felt like. I cannot overstate my surprise and happiness. The short version: This is almost a cure for allergies. It does not treat symptoms or clear your sinuses instantly. It builds up your mast cells over time (1 or 2 weeks) so that you don’t get symptoms in the first place. Hence, it feels like I’m cured. The details: I’ve suffered from allergies for 35 years, and it just got worse and worse every year. A friend recommended Nasal Crom because it worked for her when nothing else would. When I was in my early 20’s, I started getting “head colds” every August-September. After several years, it was obvious that a seasonal “cold” lasting 4-6 weeks wasn’t normal. One doctor diagnosed it as rhinitis. Years later, another doc called it sinusitis. Many more years later, another doctor pegged it as allergies, most likely to ragweed. I lived in an area with lots of autumn ragweed. I treated my symptoms with all the usual suspects: Norepinephrine, Benadryl, Claritin, nasal irrigation via Neti Pot rinsing, even resorted to the dreaded Afrin and its nasty rebound effect when the congestion got so bad I couldn’t sleep. What started as a seasonal issue eventually evolved into a year-round nightmare: sinus pressure headaches, post-nasal drip, constant clearing of the throat, sneeze attacks, watery eyes. It ebbed and flowed but never left me. Finally, I moved to Washington State, which has no ragweed. My symptoms eased a bit but never went away completely. I learned that long-term, chronic sinus conditions can damage the cilia in your sinuses, turning a simple ragweed allergy into a sensitivity to many common stimuli: dust, tree pollen, just about any tiny thing that you inhale, and we all do that daily. So even in Washington, my symptoms started to worsen again. I drastically cut dairy and carbs from my diet, anything that produces mucous. I wore a painter’s mask when vacuuming or weeding in the yard. All the little things helped, but I was still a chronic sufferer. I resigned myself to a life of allergy misery, because there is no cure, right? Then, 12 days after starting a daily Nasal Crom regimen and noticing gradual daily improvement, I realized I was actually symptom-free. I’m sleeping through the night, I have no sinus pressure, and I’m not hacking or clearing my throat. I find myself taking deep breaths through my nose just for the pure joy of being able to do it. I’m now 3 weeks into my regimen, using Nasal Crom 4 times a day. It’s safe, you can’t overdose on it (rodents were given 300 times the normal dose without harm), has no contraindications with other meds and few if any side effects (I had 2 headaches in the first 5 days of treatment that I felt might have been a side effect of Nasal Crom, but none since). If I have to use it the rest of my life to free myself from my chronic allergies, I will happily do so. I never thought I’d feel this good again. I hope you have similar results. UPDATE 11-29-15: I used NasalCrom every day for more than year (58 weeks), then noticed a recurrence of allergy symptoms. Then I read that NasalCrom recommends you not use it for more than 8 weeks in a row without a doctor's permission. I did not know that. So I saw my doctor. He referred me to an allergist and suggested I try FloNase for a while. We reportedly had the worst summer-fall season for allergies EVER here in Washington state, so maybe it was just too much for NasalCrom to handle, or maybe my long-term use rendered it less effective. FloNase is working just as well as the NasalCrom initially did, but it's a corticosteroid, which may not be as safe as NasalCrom. I'll post another update after I see my allergist. UPDATE 5-17-16: Allergy tests revealed I am allergic to dust mites and cats (and we have cats). My post-nasal drip was attributed to silent acid reflux. I shifted to a much more alkaline diet, which relieved the throat-clearing that I mistakenly thought was post-nasal drip. I still use Flonase daily because of the cats and dust mites. The allergist says I can stay on it indefinitely. When I tried to wean myself off Flonase (I don't like to take any meds I don't absolutely have to), my allergy symptoms returned. NasalCrom definitely works, but in the long run, Flonase may be more effective.

An individual's response seems to vary to different anti-allergy products, so I caution you that "Your Mileage May Vary" I find this spray remarkably effective. I used it some time ago when it was prescription but it was expensive. This OTC seems identical in it's efficacy and is a good deal- there are hundreds of sprays per bottle. (I spray 2x daily, not the suggested 4+ sprays- that works well at that level for me.) I don't want to get carried away but it also seems to relieve my itchy eyes (not direct application !! -just as nasal spray) and allows me to breathe almost completely freely, all day and night.

When nothing else works for allergies, this does. This autumn of 2014, I don't know why, but my allergies were kicking my butt. Maybe it was the rain and all the fallen leaves, which led to mold, which led to my mold allergies freaking out. I was already taking loratadine (generic Claritin) every morning and cetirizine (generic Zyrtec) every night before bed, and STILL I was congested with itchy eyes, sneezing, and sinus headaches. Worse, when I laid down to sleep, one of my nostrils would get plugged if I laid on my side, or both if I laid on my back, so I couldn't breathe. I would snore and have sleep apnea, and would wake up feeling like I hadn't slept. Enter NasalCrom. I had used it in the past, but I hadn't used it in probably well over a year. I had moved in the meantime, and I don't know what I did with the old bottle, but it had all dried up when I finally found it. Anyway, I hunted down a new bottle at a local drugstore and started using it again. Very quickly -- within 20 minutes! -- I was feeling relief from the itching and sneezing. You have to use it every 4-6 hours in the first 2-3 days. Then after the first 2-3 days, you can use it every 6-8 hours. After a couple weeks, I was down to using it first thing in the morning when I got up, using it at lunch, and then using it before I went to bed at night. My night congestion is completely controlled when I use it before bed; I don't have that un-restful sleep due to sinus congestion or the dreaded "one nostril completely clogged" problem. Now it's cold out and since everything froze I think it killed all the mold... but I discovered while using this stuff for my autumn allergies, that the sneezing and tickle in my nose and throat at work, most likely caused by the filthy HVAC vents, are also kept at bay! (The fire sprinklers near the vents look like they are flocked with filth, hair and dust -- yes, that's the air we're breathing at my job, visual proof of the adage that indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air, made all the more ironic by the fact that it is in a hospital, and none of the windows open...) What I like about NasalCrom is that you can use it for more than 3 days in a row without worrying about rebound congestion (unlike Afrin and the other nasal sprays that rely on phenylephrine or oxymetazoline as the active ingredient) because the way that it works is not by vasoconstriction, but by preventing mast cell degranulation, which stops the entire allergic cascade in the first place. The only bummer is that NasalCrom doesn't last 24 hours a day or even 12 hours a day. However, cumulative use does help. TIP: Check around at community pharmacies and outpatient pharmacies at hospitals. You can sometimes find it in generic form. Ask for NasalCrom or cromolyn sodium (the generic name). I found it in generic form at the outpatient pharmacy at the hospital where I work. Same amount for half the price I paid at a retail pharmacy. (I did not get an employee discount, either.) Now I can keep one at work and one at home and not worry about losing it in transit.

This product really relieves my nasal allergies. However, it leaves a bitter/nasty taste in my mouth all day and affects the taste of my foods and upset my stomach. Even my water tastes bitter. This is the third nasal allergy spray I’ve tried and they all have affected my taste buds, and/or upset my stomach. Too bad the one I’ve taken for decades is no longer covered by my insurance. UPDATE: I decreased usage from 4 times daily to twice daily. I have no more bitter taste in mouth. It isn’t quite as effective as taking it 4 times daily (my allergies are chronic and intense), but it does decrease the number of attacks.