Can Allergies Make You Tired? Medical Doctors Weigh In

Allergies can make us sniffle, sneeze and cough...but that exhaustion you feel? Here's what's happening, say doctors.

There’s no question thatย allergiesย can make you feel like you’re dragging yourself through the dayโ€”but in a culture that valuesย toxic productivity, most of us don’t stop for allergies. If we’re not contagious…we can carry on, right?

“A 2018 systematic review indicated that loss ofย productivity at workย was nearly 36% due to nasal allergy,” saysย David Morris, MD, Chief of Allergy and Immunology at Dayton Children’s Hospital. Dr. Morris also points out that absenteeism only occurred at a rate of 3.6%, demonstrating that many people suffer through the symptoms without missing their responsibilities.

Whether you’re powering through or taking a rest, here’s why allergies make youย tiredย and how not to let them get you down this season.

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Why do allergies make you tired?

Being constantly congestedย can lead toย headachesย and fatigueโ€”plus, allergies often interfere with sleep so you don’t get the rest you need. “Allergy medications can also make you drowsy, so it is a vicious cycle,” says Purvi Parikh, MD, FACP, FACAAI, adult and pediatric allergist and immunologist, professor at New York University School of Medicine, and national spokeswoman for the Allergy & Asthma Network.

“Many people get asthma symptoms from their allergies, and not breathing well can also make you tired,” Dr. Parikh says. “Asthma is an allergic reaction in the lungs often to the airborne allergens like pollen, mold, dust mites, pets…” If you know, you know: The list goes on, and allergy triggers are only increasing the past couple years.

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How do we know if we’re tired from allergies, or something else?

Fatigue is a sign that your body is fighting a bacterial or viral infection, and our sources suggest you need to rule that out before you know if the fatigue your feeling is a result of allergies. Allergies themselves don’t actually cause you to feel tired, as mentioned above, but the symptoms can lead to exhaustion.

Allergies can actually make you feel jitteryโ€”the opposite of tired. “Allergies themselves release histamine, which can make people feel more anxious, irritable or alert,” explainsย Jill Carnahan, MD, a functional medicine doctor in Colorado. Dr. Carnahan points out that a lot of allergy medicines make people feel tired, so it could be that…but this can also impact sleep, which will then make you feel tired.

It can be exhausting to experience itchy, swollen eyes, nasal congestion, sneezing,ย coughing, wheezing, chest tightness,ย skin rashesย and sore throat, so other causes of your symptoms should be ruled out. If you find yourself suffering from allergies on a regular basisโ€”either after exposure to animals, dust orย moldโ€”or seasonally, Dr. Parikh recommends seeing a board-certified allergist to confirm you have allergies (and/orย asthma) and start an appropriate treatment regimen. “You may even be a candidate for allergen desensitization, which actually makes you less allergic over time,” Dr. Parikh says.

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What should we do if we’re tired from allergies?

“If sedation is from an allergy medicine, especially older versions that are known to cause sedation, changing to a 24-hour medication may help because they are less sedating,” saysย David Berger, MD, a board-certified pediatrician who also has a family clinic in Florida. Dr. Berger recommends stopping the allergy medicine for two days to determine if the medication might be causing the fatigue.

This one seems obvious, but if you’re tired you should rest! “A person may need to rest because they are not feeling well,” Dr. Berger says, “but resting will not fix the root cause of the issue.”

“Improving allergy symptoms withย nasal medicationsย will promote better sleep and better sleep will lead to less tired feelings,” Dr. Morris says. Dr. Carnahan notes that extra rest won’t make your allergies go awayโ€”but if you’re treating the symptoms and getting enough rest, that might make allergy season feel a little more manageable.

For wellness insights daily, getย The Healthy @Readerโ€™s Digestย newsletterย andย follow The Healthy onย Facebook,ย Instagram, andย Twitter.ย Keep reading:

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Jaime Stathis
Jaime Alexis Stathis is a nonfiction writer whose favorite topics are humans, technology, animals, wildlife, and the places where they intersect. She writes about health, wellness, technology, nutrition, and everything related to being a human being on a constantly evolving planet. Her work has been published in Self, Wired, Parade, Bon Appรฉtit, The Independent, Rachael Ray In Season, and others. She is also a Licenced Massage Therapist. Jaime is working on a novel about a heroine who saves herself and a memoir about caring for her grandmother through the dark stages of dementia.