As allergy season ramps up, you may need medications to limit congestion, runny noses, coughs, or itchy eyes. If you are sober, finding effective medication for your allergies that doesn’t trigger your addiction can be difficult. Specific ingredients can be extremely addictive and problematic for individuals who are working hard to stay sober. Knowing allergy alternatives can help you mitigate symptoms without sacrificing your sobriety. Here are some ingredients you should look out for and how you can find safe allergy medications.

The Risks Of Allergy Medications In Sobriety

Some ingredients can lead to habit-forming tendencies in individuals who have struggled with addictions before. These ingredients in medications are known to cause impairments and mimic intoxication. Some main concerns for sober individuals are discussed below.

Medications With Stimulants

Many decongestants will act as a stimulant, which is a common ingredient in allergy medications. Sudafed and other decongestants may increase your heart rate and cause a jittery feeling. Stimulants can be problematic because they can cause many health concerns and make people feel extremely anxious. Those who have had problems with stimulants in the past are more likely to be impulsive and misuse different drugs. Taking an allergy medication with stimulants could set you back on your sober journey.

Alcohol In Liquid Medicines

Liquid allergy medications include alcohol to help dissolve other ingredients. Alcohol can also help preserve the medication to stop the production of bacteria or microorganisms, making the medication effective for longer. However, those who have had alcohol addiction can be triggered by even a small amount of alcohol in medications. For those in recovery, avoiding even just a sip of alcohol is often necessary to continue your sober journey, so looking into alcohol free allergy medications is necessary.

Codeine And Opioid-Based Products

It is not common for allergy treatments to include codeine, but some prescribed options can include opioid-based ingredients. Opioids are very addictive and should be avoided by those in recovery. If your doctor knows about your recovery, they will not prescribe you an allergy medication with codeine or other opioids.

How To Choose Safe Allergy Medications

There are safe allergy medications on the market for those who are dedicated to sobriety. Finding these safe allergy medications will help you treat your symptoms without impaired brain function or craving addictive substances.

There are nasal sprays and antihistamines that don’t include sedatives or addictive substances. Finding these options will help you feel healthy during allergy season without setting you back on your sobriety. Some of these allergy medications also come with negative side effects that make you feel even worse than before. Finding more natural remedies can aid in your health and sobriety.

Natural Remedies For Allergies

If you are nervous about choosing the right allergy medication, there are natural remedies or lifestyle changes that can limit the number of allergy symptoms you experience. 

An effective method for limiting allergies is to switch out your air filters. HEPA filters can trap even small allergens that float around your HVAC system. Changing out clogged air filters will trap dust and allergens that cause congestion, itchy eyes, and more. Air filters that are clear of old debris will be able to stop allergens from circulating around your home for months. 

Some food types have natural antihistamines that help reduce your feelings of congestion, sleepiness, or headaches. Eating apples or onions can reduce your allergy symptoms without the need for medication. 

Talk To Your Doctor Or Pharmacist

Speaking to your doctors about your symptoms and the concerns you have about sobriety is the best way to find appropriate allergy medication. Letting them know about your previous struggles with addiction and your potential triggers will help them determine better medication options. Sharing your recovery journey with medical providers will help you remain safe and healthy while dealing with allergies.

Doctors may also be able to discuss holistic treatments with you to limit allergy symptoms. Non-medical alternatives are often best for patients who deal with addictive tendencies.

Addiction Help From Red Willow

Red Willow Counseling and Recovery is here to help you on your sober journey with different resources and inpatient treatment. Our team is dedicated to providing you with support during your recovery and as you navigate life without addiction. No matter what kind of addiction you have struggled with or are struggling with, our team understands. Red Willow is proud to provide help to those in Utah who experience addiction or substance abuse.

The challenges of daily life, work, finances, relationships, and social obligations can become overwhelming quickly. Navigating complex emotions that you may not fully understand can result in frustration and anxiety. Many of us have learned about the basic emotions in our childhood, but many emotions have multiple levels or can coexist. Here are some tips to navigate emotional challenges and learn more about how your brain and body react to different situations. 

The Emotion Iceberg

While many major emotions often are used to describe other emotions, there are actually underlying words that could better describe what you are feeling. For example, the top of an iceberg may not look that large, but there is often more ice below the water level, this also applies to emotions. We may label our emotions as “anger” but under the surface, there are other emotions like loneliness, depression, scared, jealousy, disappointment, fearful, or triggered. 

1- Journaling Your Current Thoughts

When a major event occurs, someone wrongs you, or you are feeling overwhelmed you may have trouble articulating how you feel. Journaling or doing a brain dump can help clear your head and help you move forward with a rational mind. Some questions that you can ask yourself to help make journaling more effective include:

• What happened?
• What was the trigger or event?
• What did you feel?
• How did you react?
• Could your thoughts or behaviors have been different?
• How can you change your thoughts or reactions in the future?

A brain dump of scribbles, random words, and complaining can be just as beneficial as a structured journal prompt. Don’t restrict yourself when a challenge or life-changing situation has occurred. 

2- Identify And Accept Your Emotions

The first step to better emotional regulation is to identify what emotion you are feeling. Even if you may not have a name for the emotion, writing down a few can help you come up with a new word or better understand how emotions can co-exist. Observing your emotions will also help you accept your current situation and be present. While emotions and anxiety can be overwhelming, they don’t last forever. Accepting and fully feeling the emotions will help you continue to move forward, despite a challenging situation. 

3- Practice Mindfulness

Staying in the present moment is important to help navigate complex emotions. Mindfulness and meditation focus on breathing, noticing your physical sensations, and grounding yourself in the current moment. Mindfulness helps you create a space where you feel safe and provide you with control over your body. 

4- Set Boundaries

Healthy boundaries will help protect you from family, friends, or situations that can cause you physical or emotional pain. Setting boundaries is important to emotional regulation and will help you limit unnecessary emotions from taking over your day-to-day life. While it is important to regulate your emotions when a challenging situation arises, frequent issues and repeated harm to you are a clear sign you should set boundaries.

5- Focus On Physical Activities

When our brain is clouded and emotions are heavy, participating in physical activities can help to clear this brain fog. Exercise, walking, or service can take your mind off of complex emotions while still helping you feel productive. Movement will bring relief over pent-up emotions and is a healthy way to let go of stress. 

6- Remember Feelings Are Complex

After a world situation, financial stress, loss of a loved one, or lower mental health it is important to remember that it is normal to feel conflicting emotions. During a stressful time, it is ok to feel sadness over the specific situation, while also being happy about a text from a friend or time with family. 

7- Don’t Forget Self-Compassion

Everyone should give themselves grace when they are experiencing grief, mental health issues, life changes, political unrest, or a tragedy in the community. Giving yourself compassion as you navigate what has changed or what you have lost is perfectly ok. While you will eventually need to move forward and face the future, taking a nap, taking some time off work, reaching out for help, or avoiding people for a short time is a great way to calm your brain. 

8- Notice Patterns And Distortions

Life is stressful and could cause multiple instances of emotional distress. However, tracking your emotions and mental health will help you notice if these emotions are distortions. Some strong emotions in situations could be an indicator of mental illness. Noticing patterns and keeping track of instances that send you into a spiral can help you regulate emotions while in the situation. 

9- Speak With A Professional

Depending on the severity of your emotions and how it affects your daily life, speaking with a therapist can help. Therapists are able to listen to all of your concerns so you can get them off your chest, but they also can provide coping strategies. Therapy will help you navigate situations with more grace and can help you understand why you may feel certain emotions. A quality therapist will validate your feelings, break down the situation, and provide you with tools to calmly handle a future situation. 

Abstaining from alcohol can provide you with a clearer mindset and better health for the future. One of the many popular New Year’s resolutions is to have a dry month, abstaining from alcohol throughout the month of January. Cutting out alcohol for a whole month can provide many benefits for your health, relationships, mood, and more. If you are ready to prioritize your health in the new year, here are some ways that no alcohol can boost your overall health. 

1- Liver Recovery

Drinking large amounts of alcohol will cause damage to your liver. The liver breaks down alcohol but can become damaged by the substance. If your liver has been damaged from excessive drinking, taking a break will give the organ the time to regenerate cells and heal. Since it is self-healing, the liver could recover in just a few days without alcohol, however, more severe cases could take a few months. 

2- Better Hydration

Alcohol can dehydrate you quickly because it is a diuretic. Even just a few sips of alcohol can have you running to empty your bladder. If you are not diligent about replenishing your body with water while drinking alcohol, you could experience dehydration or more intense hangover symptoms. Reducing alcohol consumption will help your organs, skin, and digestive system get the water they desperately need.

3- Decrease Diabetes Risk

Reducing alcohol will reduce insulin resistance and lower your blood pressure. Both of these instances will contribute to diabetes. Those who participated in dry January reported a 25% decrease in insulin resistance. Diabetes puts your body at risk of other things, especially when alcohol is involved. Blood sugar spikes are common when consuming alcohol. 

4- Higher Quality Sleep

Alcohol can disrupt your body’s normal rhythm and process, including your sleep. Alcohol interrupts your REM sleep, which could lead you to feel groggy even after getting 8+ hours of sleep. Even if a glass of wine can make you sleepy, most alcohol has been linked to lower-quality sleep and less efficiency, because it causes framented sleep. Drinking alcohol can affect your deep sleep by reducing cortisol production. Heavy drinking can cause you to wake up frequently throughout the night because of the lack of hormones.

5- More Energy

When your sleep is balanced, you will have more energy throughout the day. Participants who have completed Dry January reported being more energetic and improved focus. Limiting your alcohol consumption can improve concentration, work productivity, and chore completion. 

6- Balanced Mood

Most people feel that alcohol can lift their spirits, but only for a short period. Alcohol is a mood depressant which could lead to higher anxiety and depression. Cutting back can help avoid emotional slumps and mood swings. While you may think that your mood is fairly stable, changing your alcohol consumption could elevate your energy and make you less irritable. You can avoid the slump that comes after a night out and improve your overall well-being when you attempt dry January.

7- Weight Loss

Puffy faces and bloated stomachs can come after a night of drinking. Lowering your alcohol consumption will reduce inflammation in the body and aid in the digestion of food. While you may not drop tons of weight at first, limiting extra alcohol will lower the calories you consume and inflammation in multiple parts of your body. Inflammation can lead to bloating and criticism of your body when it may not fit into certain clothes.

8- Clear Skin

Long-term consumption of alcohol can cause multiple skin issues like acne, hyperpigmentation, rashes, dryness, and more. Getting flushed during drinking is normal, but long-term drinking can lead to dehydration and flare-ups of certain skin conditions. For those who have existing skin conditions like psoriasis or rosacea, alcohol can worsen symptoms or make your skin itchy and dry. 

9- Increased Focus

Drugs and alcohol can slow down your brain and fine motor skills. Another health benefit of limiting alcohol consumption is the ability to improve focus at work and school. Focusing on tasks like homework, writing, phone calls, and driving can all be impaired by alcoholic beverages. 

10- Immune System Improvements

All of the chemicals in alcohol can damage your immune system. Those who are consistent alcohol users could experience more severe colds, nausea, infections, and more. Our immune systems need to fight environmental pollutants every day, so having a quality immune system will keep you from spending days in bed or in the hospital. Boosting your immune system by limiting alcohol and taking vitamins can keep you healthy throughout the year. 

Participating In Dry January

If you want to take better control of your health and participate in dry January, Red Willow is here to support you! Check out our resources or schedule an appointment with us to help you have professional support throughout the upcoming year. We know that addiction can be a scary thing, so let our compassionate team help you live a higher quality life. You’ve got this!