Allergy Relief I Never Expected to Work

written by Tanya Toledano July 29, 2014

This past spring I was invited to an event where actress Mahée Paiement would be speaking about HydraSense, a product I am very familiar with and have used with my own family.

When my kids were younger, each had their own bottle.

When I became aware of the ‘mouche bébé’ (nasal aspirator) – they each had one of those, too.

Full disclosure: They only got them after I understood that there was no way that using that thing would result in my inhalation of my kids’ mucus – initially, the concept freaked me out!

The tag-team of Hydrasense & the mouche-bébé got our family through many a cold with less heartache and appeased my kids’ symptoms when they were unwell.

So, when I was invited to spend a morning at this event, held at Spa St-Jude (Look it up – OMG) discussing the importance of BREATHING (I could use a refresher course) and hearing about Hydrasense…I was IN! In my mind – the blog post was already written – about the benefits of HydraSense with my kids, and a bonus: I would get to check out a new spa 😉

And then…I learned a little something. Mahée spoke about a side of HydraSense I hadn’t considered: Daily (preventative) maintenance. Let me rephrase that…I’m aware that there are supposed to be benefits to daily nasal irrigation, but given that my ‘routine’ is lacking a little…it’s not something I’ve even considered incorporating.

In addition, Mahée also made a great point about using HydraSense right after an airline flight – not a bad suggestion given how people are known to be prone to getting sick post-flight. Let’s just say that I’ll likely be packing a ‘to-go’ HydraSense next time I make my way to the airport.

So here’s the kicker: Although I paid attention while she was speaking, I was fixated on this one bottle that said HydraSense Allergy. “Really?”, I thought to myself…”What’s the difference between that bottle and the others? Is this a marketing gimmick?”

So I asked the question.

It turns out that the Allergy version is a “hypertonic” formulation – Translation: it contains a higher salt concentration than the salt content in our bodies. The ‘Regular’ HydraSense is an isotonic solution which means that the salt concentration is similar to that of the human body.

I can get into how this affects the body physiologically, but you can just read that on the HydraSense website.

What I want to share is my very (I’ll be honest) UNEXPECTED experience with the HydraSense Allergy sample I found in my gift bag when I left the event.

During the spring season, I repeatedly saw the bottle sitting on my bathroom counter but was hesitant to ‘trust it’ to deal with my symptoms.

One weekend, the itchy eyes and repetitive sneezing started even before I made it out of the bedroom. It was BAD. But, I wasn’t working that day and we were just going to be staying home so I figured I’d bite the bullet and give it a try. Worst case, I’d end up taking my antihistamine later on. (I was quite certain that would be the case).

Instructions said to use 2-3 times daily but in true Tanya fashion, I used it once & forgot about it….until I saw the bottle again that night…and realized I hadn’t sneezed or been itchy… ALL. DAY. LONG.

“Really???” I thought. “Maybe it’s a fluke. I’m going to have to try this again…”

Next day- woke up the same way – itchy & sneezy & badly so. Once again – one application in the AM, and once again forgot to monitor if the symptoms would persist- because they disappeared. ALL. DAY. LONG.

I was having a hard time believing it. If you have allergies, you KNOW that the symptoms do NOT let you forget that you have allergies, especially on the bad days…unless you do something about them (aka – antihistamine).

I had to try a third time- now willing to leave the house after a symptomatic morning (antihistamine in my purse- just in case)…Forgot about until late afternoon when I had one ‘triple sneeze’ and nothing else until bedtime. Antihistamine: not taken.

So – can I say with certainly that you would have the same experience if you try it? No.

But did I decide then & there that this was blog-worthy? Yes.

If you have allergies, then you likely know that taking your antihistamine consistently is considered a good bet at staving off symptoms. You’ve also likely experienced the need to switch antihistamines after a couple of seasons because it seems our bodies get used to even the most effective of antihistamines. You may be among those who swear by allergy shots- I know many. I can’t speak to that as I have not done them myself.

Suffice it to say, although I am familiar with the above, I have a tendency to only take my antihistamine when I feel symptoms- badly. I’ll often try to just grin & bear it – despite it being disruptive.

It also turns out that I’m not alone. The folks over at Claritin conducted a Leger survey of Canadians with non-food-related allergies, which revealed that

nearly 60% of respondents said their symptoms negatively affect their quality of life
19% of those polled are opting to do NOTHING to relieve their own allergies

I have no doubt that there are many reasons for this statistic, but in my case, it’s partly because I hesitate to use medication ‘too often’. I worry that my body will ‘get used to it’. I suspect that I am not alone in this either. And that’s precisely what makes the HydraSense option so very attractive.

Believe me, I still kept my antihistamine in my purse and sometimes had to use it. (You didn’t think I’d actually remember to give myself a daily spritz without the trigger of symptoms, did you???)

On days that I did use the HydraSense again during the season, it worked. I eventually stopped because my symptoms stopped. That said, just last week, they started creeping up again…getting ready for the ‘August set’ I suppose.

So far I’ve been grinning & bearing it – and hasn’t been so bad, but you can bet when it hits hard, I will reach for that bottle of HydraSense Allergy