How Running Affects Your Allergies

Jocelyn Ricasa, MD

This blog was contributed by Jocelyn Ricasa, MD, race medical director, sports medicine and family medicine physician at Bon Secours Medical Associates in Virginia Beach.

Have you ever noticed that your allergy symptoms seem to improve greatly when you are running, but then your stuffy runny nose and watery eyes come back with a vengeance as soon as you are done with your cool down?

That is a good example of one of the many effects of the adrenaline (otherwise known as “epinephrine”) your body produces while your exercise.

Allergy symptoms occur when your body’s immune system overzealously reacts to being exposed to an otherwise harmless substance – such as pollens, dust, or grasses.  And these symptoms can contribute to asthma, which certainly affect your ability to perform during a race.

The treatment for allergy symptoms aim at counteracting that overzealous response of the immune system.

Over-the-counter oral antihistamines are a great place to start, since blocking histamines translates to blocking one of the many signals your immune system uses to ramp up its overenthusiastic response. Since most of these medications are taken by mouth, they are absorbed and distributed all over the body.

Over-the-counter steroid nasal sprays specifically work at the level of the nose, decreasing the immune response in your nasal passages that turns on the “faucet” of rhinorrhea (fancy name for “clear nasal discharge”), that causes you to sneeze, blow your nose, and have that post-nasal drip that tickles the back of your throat.

If the over-the-counter medications aren’t quite controlling your symptoms, consult your healthcare provider.  There are other options that require prescriptions.

When allergic reactions are life-threatening, called “anaphylaxis,” injectable epinephrine is used, the same epinephrine adrenaline that you make when you run!

You should avoid some over-the-counter medications when you are running and exercising. Decongestants (often sold in combination with anti-histamines), are stimulants, which work similarly to your natural epinephrine / adrenaline. There is such a thing as “too much of a good thing” when it comes to adrenaline. Because of the stimulant effects, decongestants are included on the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) “Prohibited List.” So be sure to read the labels of both the oral and nasal spray over-the-counter allergy medications and avoid using decongestants when exercising.

Go forth and safely run merrily through the flowers and trees and clouds of pollen…. Achoo!

Live, Love, Run!