Does Singulair work for decongestion as well as asthmatic allergy symptoms?

November 30th, 2008 by admin

pet allergy
Robyn F. asked:


My boyfriend recently started taking Claritin-D to help with his allergies to dust mites, mold spores and pet dander. While regular Claritin seems to work on his burning eyes and difficulty breathing, it doesn’t help with congestion. He started taking Claritin-D to combat all his symptoms, but is discouraged by the price. His doctor is resistant to write a prescription because it is now sold over the counter. He’s hoping to switch to a Singulair prescription or something similar so that it is covered by insurance, but is afraid that it won’t help with his congestion. Does anyone know if Singulair works as a decongestant as well? If not, what does? Thanks!

2 Responses to “Does Singulair work for decongestion as well as asthmatic allergy symptoms?”

  1. mdweinreb Says:
    December 3rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm

    A “decongestant” works by directly shrinking the blood vessels in your nose. The only known decongestants are pseudophedrine products that are the “D” in Claritin- D. Over the counter pseudophed pills and Neosynephrine nasal sprays are “decongestants” . They are usually cheap but not prescription .These treat the congestion but not the cause.

    The issue is what is causing the congestion.
    if it is caused by allergies— Singulair -which works by blocking a substance that is produced by the allergic response- takes a few days to work to decrease congestion and is covered by most insurances.

    Antihistamines- such as Claritin (over the counter) and Zyrtec (still prescription but may need ‘prior approval’ for your insurance to pay for it) are non sedating antihistamines and block histamine within a few hours to prevent “congestion”.
    Drug companies have added a decongestant (”D”)to these products to make them work quicker.

    One of the best ideas and recommendations is if the congestion is really from allergies is for your Dr. to prescribe a steroid nasal spray such as “Flonase” or Rhinocort”.
    These sprays work by decreasing the inflammation in your nose from allergies and take 2-3 days to work. They have less side effects than the oral antihistamines,(small % of nose bleeds) work better than Singulair, and most insurance companies will readily cover them.

    good luck

  2. Robert b Says:
    December 4th, 2008 at 8:18 am

    Singulair does NOT have decongestant activity and will NOT help your boyfriend in this case. E-mail or im me, I can give you some more suggestions.