How do you know what it is and what to take for allergies or astham, post nasel drip- help...please.

How do you know if it's asthma of post nasel drip? I have allergies to dust and other things and can't breath often. For the past week I used allergy medication but that dried up my throat and made it hard to talk. I did not take anything last night and this morning I had ear drainage, nose stuffyness, and could not breath. I used inhealed and nasel cortazone and now feel fine.

[Dr Rajput]

Hi, welcome to the forum, your symptoms may be suggestive of rhinosinusitis or asthma and hence a test with bronchodilators for 2-3 weeks will be useful to relieve the symptoms. If the symptoms don’t improve stop the medications. Allergy medications are known to cause dry mouth.

The triggering factors like dust, fog, pollens etc. can cause the precipitation of these symptoms.

Allergen-specific testing includes Skin testing, Serum tests for allergy, Allergen challenge and as well as Evaluation of respiratory system by spirometry will help to substantiate the diagnosis.

I suggest you to consult allergy specialist for further evaluation. Take care and regards.

[zoe114]

Thank you, I did have the allergy testing and it showed that I have allergies to dust mites and some pollens. I also took that Spirometry test and showed that inhealed steriods helped. I will try what you suggested using the bronchodilator. I have been using the nasal steriods  the last two days and some gets in my throat. I noticed my heart beat a bit faster when it went down my throat last night when I used this medication, but did sleep well through the night. I have also always had a constant yawn. This has all been going on much of my life. Thanks