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In a previous post, I mentioned that I get a runny nose when I go for a walk in the mornings or a run in the evening. It’s not terrible, but is annoying and prevents me from breathing comfortably through my nose. I hypothesized that this was caused by allergies and, with great feedback from readers (Reddit, QS forum), designed a set of experiments to check whether this was the case.
In this post, I will report the results from the first experiments, a blinded, placebo-controlled test of exercising after taking a fast-acting antihistamine.
TL;DR:
- Fast-acting antihistamine reduced my rhinitis, but that could be due to preventing a mild allergy or just drying out my nasal passages.
- All other allergy medication I can find also reduces mucus production and the other intervention I was planning (wearing an N95 mask) blocks allergens, but will also increase the temperature of the air I breathe and thus not distinguish between allergy and cold as the cause.
Does anyone know of a test a way to block/prevent allergies that doesn’t dry out nasal passages or increase the temperature of the air you breath?
– QD