NasalCrom Nasal Spray Allergy Symptom Controller | 200 Sprays | .88 FL OZ

Bottom line: This stuff works. It changed my life. For the first time in DECADES, I can live a normal life. I’d forgotten what normal felt like. I cannot overstate my surprise and happiness. The short version: This is almost a cure for allergies. It does not treat symptoms or clear your sinuses instantly. It builds up your mast cells over time (1 or 2 weeks) so that you don’t get symptoms in the first place. Hence, it feels like I’m cured. The details: I’ve suffered from allergies for 35 years, and it just got worse and worse every year. A friend recommended Nasal Crom because it worked for her when nothing else would. When I was in my early 20’s, I started getting “head colds” every August-September. After several years, it was obvious that a seasonal “cold” lasting 4-6 weeks wasn’t normal. One doctor diagnosed it as rhinitis. Years later, another doc called it sinusitis. Many more years later, another doctor pegged it as allergies, most likely to ragweed. I lived in an area with lots of autumn ragweed. I treated my symptoms with all the usual suspects: Norepinephrine, Benadryl, Claritin, nasal irrigation via Neti Pot rinsing, even resorted to the dreaded Afrin and its nasty rebound effect when the congestion got so bad I couldn’t sleep. What started as a seasonal issue eventually evolved into a year-round nightmare: sinus pressure headaches, post-nasal drip, constant clearing of the throat, sneeze attacks, watery eyes. It ebbed and flowed but never left me. Finally, I moved to Washington State, which has no ragweed. My symptoms eased a bit but never went away completely. I learned that long-term, chronic sinus conditions can damage the cilia in your sinuses, turning a simple ragweed allergy into a sensitivity to many common stimuli: dust, tree pollen, just about any tiny thing that you inhale, and we all do that daily. So even in Washington, my symptoms started to worsen again. I drastically cut dairy and carbs from my diet, anything that produces mucous. I wore a painter’s mask when vacuuming or weeding in the yard. All the little things helped, but I was still a chronic sufferer. I resigned myself to a life of allergy misery, because there is no cure, right? Then, 12 days after starting a daily Nasal Crom regimen and noticing gradual daily improvement, I realized I was actually symptom-free. I’m sleeping through the night, I have no sinus pressure, and I’m not hacking or clearing my throat. I find myself taking deep breaths through my nose just for the pure joy of being able to do it. I’m now 3 weeks into my regimen, using Nasal Crom 4 times a day. It’s safe, you can’t overdose on it (rodents were given 300 times the normal dose without harm), has no contraindications with other meds and few if any side effects (I had 2 headaches in the first 5 days of treatment that I felt might have been a side effect of Nasal Crom, but none since). If I have to use it the rest of my life to free myself from my chronic allergies, I will happily do so. I never thought I’d feel this good again. I hope you have similar results. UPDATE 11-29-15: I used NasalCrom every day for more than year (58 weeks), then noticed a recurrence of allergy symptoms. Then I read that NasalCrom recommends you not use it for more than 8 weeks in a row without a doctor's permission. I did not know that. So I saw my doctor. He referred me to an allergist and suggested I try FloNase for a while. We reportedly had the worst summer-fall season for allergies EVER here in Washington state, so maybe it was just too much for NasalCrom to handle, or maybe my long-term use rendered it less effective. FloNase is working just as well as the NasalCrom initially did, but it's a corticosteroid, which may not be as safe as NasalCrom. I'll post another update after I see my allergist. UPDATE 5-17-16: Allergy tests revealed I am allergic to dust mites and cats (and we have cats). My post-nasal drip was attributed to silent acid reflux. I shifted to a much more alkaline diet, which relieved the throat-clearing that I mistakenly thought was post-nasal drip. I still use Flonase daily because of the cats and dust mites. The allergist says I can stay on it indefinitely. When I tried to wean myself off Flonase (I don't like to take any meds I don't absolutely have to), my allergy symptoms returned. NasalCrom definitely works, but in the long run, Flonase may be more effective.

I actually started using this product to help with my MCAS! It definitely does help. Easy to use without any scent and no real taste when it drains from my nasal passages. It doesn't sting. Good value for the money!

When nothing else works for allergies, this does. This autumn of 2014, I don't know why, but my allergies were kicking my butt. Maybe it was the rain and all the fallen leaves, which led to mold, which led to my mold allergies freaking out. I was already taking loratadine (generic Claritin) every morning and cetirizine (generic Zyrtec) every night before bed, and STILL I was congested with itchy eyes, sneezing, and sinus headaches. Worse, when I laid down to sleep, one of my nostrils would get plugged if I laid on my side, or both if I laid on my back, so I couldn't breathe. I would snore and have sleep apnea, and would wake up feeling like I hadn't slept. Enter NasalCrom. I had used it in the past, but I hadn't used it in probably well over a year. I had moved in the meantime, and I don't know what I did with the old bottle, but it had all dried up when I finally found it. Anyway, I hunted down a new bottle at a local drugstore and started using it again. Very quickly -- within 20 minutes! -- I was feeling relief from the itching and sneezing. You have to use it every 4-6 hours in the first 2-3 days. Then after the first 2-3 days, you can use it every 6-8 hours. After a couple weeks, I was down to using it first thing in the morning when I got up, using it at lunch, and then using it before I went to bed at night. My night congestion is completely controlled when I use it before bed; I don't have that un-restful sleep due to sinus congestion or the dreaded "one nostril completely clogged" problem. Now it's cold out and since everything froze I think it killed all the mold... but I discovered while using this stuff for my autumn allergies, that the sneezing and tickle in my nose and throat at work, most likely caused by the filthy HVAC vents, are also kept at bay! (The fire sprinklers near the vents look like they are flocked with filth, hair and dust -- yes, that's the air we're breathing at my job, visual proof of the adage that indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air, made all the more ironic by the fact that it is in a hospital, and none of the windows open...) What I like about NasalCrom is that you can use it for more than 3 days in a row without worrying about rebound congestion (unlike Afrin and the other nasal sprays that rely on phenylephrine or oxymetazoline as the active ingredient) because the way that it works is not by vasoconstriction, but by preventing mast cell degranulation, which stops the entire allergic cascade in the first place. The only bummer is that NasalCrom doesn't last 24 hours a day or even 12 hours a day. However, cumulative use does help. TIP: Check around at community pharmacies and outpatient pharmacies at hospitals. You can sometimes find it in generic form. Ask for NasalCrom or cromolyn sodium (the generic name). I found it in generic form at the outpatient pharmacy at the hospital where I work. Same amount for half the price I paid at a retail pharmacy. (I did not get an employee discount, either.) Now I can keep one at work and one at home and not worry about losing it in transit.

This product really relieves my nasal allergies. However, it leaves a bitter/nasty taste in my mouth all day and affects the taste of my foods and upset my stomach. Even my water tastes bitter. This is the third nasal allergy spray I’ve tried and they all have affected my taste buds, and/or upset my stomach. Too bad the one I’ve taken for decades is no longer covered by my insurance. UPDATE: I decreased usage from 4 times daily to twice daily. I have no more bitter taste in mouth. It isn’t quite as effective as taking it 4 times daily (my allergies are chronic and intense), but it does decrease the number of attacks.

Since I was a small child I have had issues with allergens. I am allergic to a lot of things. I have sneezing fits that last tens of minutes with one sneeze immediately after the other. I had read about this product on WebMD and thought about trying it because Benadryl was making me too groggy in the morning and the rx nasal spray was not helping much at all. This morning was the LAST straw!!! I woke up before my alarm at 5:50AM. As soon I stood up I began to feel the sensation of a bout of sneezing coming on. This is normal for me each morning. I literally sneezed and had a runny nose from 5:50AM until 7:40AM which is when I shot NASALCROM up my nose for the first time. I got so frustrated this morning that I stopped at Walgreens on my way to work and picked up the .88oz bottle for eighteen dollars. I didn't read the directions...I just shot two squirts in each nostril. I know now to only use one shot in each nostril but my rx of Flonase is two squirts per nostril so when I opened the package I did what I normally do with my Flonase. As soon as I shot this nasal spray into my nose I felt some pressure in my nose. I couldn't believe how quickly this stuff was working. I have not sneezed or had any nasal problems such as runny nose or itchiness since I used Nasalcrom. This stuff is a miracle!!! I have signed up for Subscribe and Save because it is cheaper than buying it at Walgreens. I am extremely allergic to perfumes and it will be interesting to see if this stuff helps me with that problem too. If you have any issues with sneezing and runny nose YOU HAVE TO BUY NASALCROM!! I promise you that you will thank me for it after your first time using it. PS: Thank you to all of the previous reviewers who helped me decide to try this. It literally helped me clear my head which has been stuffed up for 30 years! : ) lol ****Update***** 11/15/13 I am still astounded by how well this nasal spray works. As soon as I start sneezing, I use the nasal spray and BAM!, no more sneezing. On occasion, one squirt is not enough to stop the sneezing so I just use another squirt. : ) I no longer am suffering from horrible bouts of sneezing. I now have a bottle on my nightstand, a bottle on my desk at work and a bottle that I carry in my bag. I even bought a bottle for my 7 year old niece who apparently has the same allergies that I do. My sister-in-law told me that it has worked for my niece as well. My sweet niece is so happy to find a medicine that finally works! Seriously, you don't need to suffer anymore. Try this spray and I bet you will never leave home without it! : )

I have developed SEVERE allergies over the past couple years as my home has mystery mold and nothing has helped with the awful congestion and post-nasal drip to date, even the Rx nasal sprays, saline washes, etc. As I do get terrible rashes from food that are mast cell related (not that my former allergist gave much thought to this), I thought I would try NasalCrom to see if it helped with my awful nasal allergies (rhinitis) and near-chronic sinus infections as it's a mast cell stabilizer. It does help a lot with the congestion and drip (not so much with the infections), but it's more like I went from a 10 to a 6 on the Awful Allergy Scale and I was hoping to be closer to a 1 or 2. But, this is at least helping and isn't a fortune like Veramyst, which is like spraying water up my nose! The only thing is my vision, which is already very poor due to a corneal disease, has gotten much worse since the day I started using this spray over a month ago and seems to continue to get worse by the day. I'm so worried I will have to stop using NasalCrom due to this side effect. I can't seem to find a link between this spray and vision issues, but I have with the active ingredient, which is also available orally and as an eye drop (both Rx only) and the eye drops helped with the burning allergy eyes so much and I hated having to stop it (not that my vision is improving). If your allergies get better and your vision gets worse, I would suspect this spray as my eye doc can't seem to find any other explanation, but I will edit this review if I can figure out why my vision deteriorated once I started using this. Otherwise, I would give NasalCrom a shot if all other meds have failed as you may have a mast cell issue more than anything else and this is a pure mast cell stabilizer and nothing else. Update 8/2018: I stopped using this over a year ago as it conked out on me. After more testing from my eye doctor, it appears my vision got worse (and then worse, again) from my corneal disease progressing so presumably it was just a coincidence that I had started using NasalCrom that day, although I have been on an oral mast cell stabilizer (cromolyn sodium vials) for a few months and my vision is getting worse again so maybe the active ingredient is making my corneal disease worse (makes no sense)? I'm staying away from cromolyn sodium for now as it doesn't seem to really help my weird allergies aside from facial flushing after I eat, but again, the nasal form (NasalCrom) just might work for you...

I have had bad sinus and allergy issue for a very long time. Im 62 and this spray is the only thing I’ve ever tried that works. Clears up my nasal issues, no more sinus headaches and I wake up clear for the first time in years. Im only 4 weeks in but so far I have no complaints….

I first bought the generic version, and did not particularly like atomizer/spray mechanism (I have had other nasal sprays that had a much better spray/mist), so I bought this one, and it ends up having the exact same undesirable atomizer/spray mechanism. So if you find that Cromolyn Sodium spray works for you, go with the generic version and same money. I would have been willing to spend more to get a better atomizer......

Do not waste your money to buy this spray. It is not really helping.