The last part of the last sentence is probably correct. But it also depends where you live in Taiwan, your house conditions and your mode of transport. Since moving to Taichung I rarely suffer from allergies.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but try nasal irrigation.
I hate most medicines because they make me really really tired (doesnāt matter if itās non-drowsy or not) so I try to use natural cures when I can.
Nasal irrigation clears up post nasal drip pretty good too (I go from feeling like Iām going to throw up because my throat is thick with mucus to feeling just fine).
I usually do it after surfing (I regularly find used needles and organs on the beach, who knows whatās in the water), or if I start to feel symptoms (for example I just had a cold and did it three times a day- cold cleared up in two days too, which seemed fast to me.) I donāt do it every day unless Iām surfing every day.
I love me some peer-reviewed journal articles:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0689/is_2_53/ai_113299032/
This is what I use because itās convenient but you can buy any squeeze bottle that fits your nostril and itāll work:
http://www.neilmed.com/usa/adword_sr.php?gclid=CI-r3cXvjqcCFUpypAodTD60eQ
About 7 weeks ago, when it was raining heavily (It was ridiculously humid in our apartment at that time), my girlfriend and I came down with the flu. Very high fever for a couple of days followed by coughing and more coughing.
About the second or third day, my left ear plugged up and left me with about 15% of normal hearing. I went to the hospital but they could see nothing wrong by looking into my ear. They prescribed antibiotics, antihistamines and and some other stuff. A week went by with no improvement. An unusual thing was that when I would use q-tips to clean the inside of my ear, they would come out clean.
Another trip to the hospital and they prescribed more of the same and sent me on my way. It took about a month for my hearing to return to about 90% of what it was. It still hasnāt fully come back.
My girlfriend on the other hand developed pneumonia and was in the hospital for a week. She had a cough that sounded like someone was punching a donkey.
After the humidity subsided, we noticed black mold growing here and there all over the walls. I donāt know if the black mold spores are related to our problems, but Iām guessing that they may have had something to do with it. 
Anyoneās allergies been going into overdrive the last few days? 
To poster with black mold on the walls, you should move out of that apartment ASAP.
I never had any issues with breathing when I went to Taiwan in 2009. Near the end of my 1 year trip, I caught a really bad cold that caused me to get swollen glands for quite a few months after, and the cold didnāt go away for about a month. Since then, and even after returning to Canada, i have severe Sinusitis that I canāt get rid of, even after 2 years.
I know, but I canāt just move unfortunately. Anyway, Iām only here for another 3 months. I managed to clean the walls (of all of the visible mold anyway). Iām sure that unseen mold abounds in here somewhere and I suspect that it may be the cause of problems.
My girlfriend has a persistent dry cough that has been going on for so long that she has developed a pain in her ribs under her right breast.
My left ear never fully recovered hearing-wise, when all of the sudden and without warning, my right ear plugged up and lost about 50% hearing (it has since improved but not entirely). I am not congested at all this time which is why I suspect mold spores.
I always have terrible skin allergies in Taiwan. In fact, before I left Taiwan in 2005, I think it was, I had a strange thing on my calf that would look fineānothing there but some slight swelling, but itch like a ritchious bitch and if I scratched it, it would burst and bleed a LOT. It would turn out that it was itching from the pressure of the blood just under the skin. Eventually, that just became a huge sore place that wouldnāt heal for more than a year. Taiwan docs gave antihistamines and ointmens, but nothing worked. But it was completely healed less than two weeks after I landed in the States and has not reurned.
I also have psoriasis that is always a LOT worse here than at home. Itās very hard to controle here, in fact.
I wholeheartedly believe this to be polution related.
My allergies are in full-force year-round here. The winter is usually the worst for me. My mum sent me some allergy meds from Canada that help a lot. One tiny pill once a day and the allergies usually go away. If they get really out of control though, I get the pill cocktail from the pharmacy next to my school. One packet and Iām good for a week.
On a related allergy note, I went for a swim at the pool yesterday. Holy Flying Jesus, how much chlorine do they put in the water here? Within 30 minutes of getting out of the water, my eyes were totally bloodshot, watering non-stop and swollen almost closed. My nose was bouncing back and forth between leaking like a faucet and full of concrete. Iāve swum in pools here before and usually had itchy eyes for an hour or so, but yesterday was unbearable.
I think a lot of you guys are overworrying about the sniffles. Iām one who suffers from the whole gamut (allergies, asthma, and anaphalaxis shock syndrome). Basically as long as I take my meds (Allegra and Singular) daily, Iām ok. Sometimes, I may need two or even three Allegras a day. Xyzal is really strong, but the side effects (extreme drowsiness) isnāt for me. Claritin/Clarityne is ok. As for inhalers, Flovent and Ventolin are both good. Flovent is like a double hit of Ventolin, but it canāt be taken more than once. While Ventolin can be taken five or six times. Flovent gives you the major shakes (think Parkinsonās) if you take it twice. (Iāve never tried three hits of Flovent-too afraid.) As for ASS, epipens are nowhere to be found in Taiwan except with an import permit from the hospitalās university department. Costs about 5000nt. Or you can use the local equivalentāadrenaline with a syringe. It is a pain in the ass to get it, most doctors have refused to give it to me because of the sheer strength of this drug. But I have gotten a few. Luckily jianbao covers most of the costs. Thus, I can get a three month supply of everything for a mere 600NT when I visit the hospital. If anyone needs any help as to where to get any of these things, Iām willing to help you in any way/recommend docs, etc. if you need anything.
[quote=āhousecatā]I always have terrible skin allergies in Taiwan. In fact, before I left Taiwan in 2005, I think it was, I had a strange thing on my calf that would look fineānothing there but some slight swelling, but itch like a ritchious bitch and if I scratched it, it would burst and bleed a LOT. It would turn out that it was itching from the pressure of the blood just under the skin. Eventually, that just became a huge sore place that wouldnāt heal for more than a year. Taiwan docs gave antihistamines and ointmens, but nothing worked. But it was completely healed less than two weeks after I landed in the States and has not reurned.
I also have psoriasis that is always a LOT worse here than at home. Itās very hard to controle here, in fact.
I wholeheartedly believe this to be polution related.[/quote]
Iām curious if your skin problems are better now that you are living south. I too have developed skin issues living here but it has to do with humidity in Taipei. I live by the mountains so itās not pollution. Also, no problems when travelling in dry parts of China which are often far more polluted. Taipei has always been a cesspool of germs.
The filthy air is the cause which is in turn mostly caused by the massive burning of coal to make electricity followed by vehiclar and industrial exhaust.
It blocked my maxillary sinuses to the point where I had severe dizzy spells and had to return to New Zealand. The air-cond was part of the problem too.
Having taught english in Taiwan (3 years), South Korea (2 years), and North Eastern China (6 months) I would have to say that Taiwans east coast has the filthiest air of all three of them by a very wide margin.
Taiwans east coast is in fact beautiful and clean with its air. The west coast is the killer!
Iāve had good results the last 3-4 months with āChlorpheniramine.ā
Before I discovered this, I constantly had the post nasal drip going on. Iām fine now as long as I remember to take it.
Does anyone know of an allergy specialist doctor, and not the Chinese herbal medicine traditionalist (which others keep referring me to).
Iām also looking for what are over-the-counter medications (without prescriptions) in the US like Zytec, Claritin or Allegra.
Anyone know where to find those medications?
Sorry to cross-post this, but Iām in sort of desperate need.
[url]WCIF Allergist or Allergy medication?
Go to directly to pharmacies, you donāt need a prescription for Zytec, they sell them by the blister pack.
Wow, I am so glad to come across this post. Iāve been having crazy nasal congestion for the past 2 weeks (which is 2 weeks after I moved to Taipei from NY) and I had thought it was the cold until yesterday someone (also an expat) pointed it out to me that it might be allergies to the air, mold, whatever. Iām starting to think it probably is allergies.
Back in NY I rarely ever got sick, probably came down with the flu like twice in my 13 years there, and even if I got sick with the cold, itād go away very quickly without me doing anything about it. I do have the so-called allergic body type, something people in Taiwan emphasize. I grew up here (in Taichung) and I had severe eczema as a kid. That went away almost completely when I moved to NY. Now that Iām back in Taiwan, in Taipei which has air dirtier than Taichung, it makes the most sense that what Iām suffering from is allergies. Itās also been raining 5 out of 7 days in a week since I got here, so that obviously doesnāt help.
Luckily I brought my Claritin pack from NY just in caseā¦ took one just now and Iām hoping itāll do the trick that punateng/Panadol (Taiwanese med for the common cold) failed to do for the past week.
One question though, do most of you guys gradually adapt to the air and your allergies go away after a while? Since I grew up here (though in a different city) I donāt know if itās worth the pain of enduring to see if Iāll eventually adapt so I donāt need to live on allergy meds :s
If it is just the nose thing, Iād recommend what the doctor sent me -and you can buy over the counter here: it is a nasal spray called budesonide, by AstraZeneca. swedish. 2 pumps at night, one in each nostril, no problemo.
My allergies have gotten worse the longer I live here, but then I am no no spring chicken.
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[quote=āIconā]If it is just the nose thing, Iād recommend what the doctor sent me -and you can buy over the counter here: it is a nasal spray called budesonide, by AstraZeneca. swedish. 2 pumps at night, one in each nostril, no problemo.
My allergies have gotten worse the longer I live here, but then I am no no spring chicken.[/quote]
Yeah, itās mostly just nasal. I do have occasional cough but 95% is stuffy/running nose. So I will definitely check that out. Thanks! 
No hay por donde - translation: nali nali.