First generation antihistamines
If you suffer from allergies, then you may have become accustomed to some of these medications since they came on the market. Since then, they have also been used to curb some symptoms of the common cold, as well as treat insomnia and anxiety, and some types of first-generation antihistamines have proven useful in the prevention of motion sickness, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting! However, a lesser-known side effect of the first generation of these pills is memory loss in seniors.
The way in which these medications work in order to curb allergies or any of the other health issues we mentioned before is that they inhibit the action of a chemical messenger (acetylcholine) in the body, and thus they can stop the reaction our bodies have to certain allergens, for example. A side effect of these medications is that they can also inhibit the learning centers of the brain and other memory activities.
This does not mean that you should go without your allergy medication, but rather that if you observe memory loss or anything related to cognition, you should go and talk to your doctor about it. Newer generations of antihistamines are known to not pose the same danger when it comes to memory loss in seniors.
No matter what you take medication for, it is never good to stop taking it without talking to a professional first.
