[Ainsley]

It could be asthma. I feel my asthma as a tightening in my throat, even though I know it's the bronchial tubes in my lungs that are contracting.

Even if it is asthma, though, I wouldn't recommend going on a daily treatment like Advair or Singulair if you only experience occasional acute reactions. I only started on Advair when my asthma became chronic: that is, I would be wheezing every day for no reason if I weren't on it. When my asthma was only exercise or allergen induced, I just used a fast-acting inhaler to control those reactions as they happened.

So you might look into a prescription fast-acting inhaler like albuterol or salbutamol. I'm not familiar with over-the-counter inhalers, so I can't comment on those. You would just take one or two puffs when you experience a reaction, and it should quell your symptoms (assuming they're asthmatic) in a couple of minutes.

On the other hand, it could be a swelling allergy. In that case, you would be better served by taking an antihistamine like Benadryl, which is often used to treat swelling allergies like hives. The problem with Benadryl, though, is that, although it is one of the more effective over-the-counter drugs for treating swelling reactions, it also makes you drowsy.

If your throat is actually swelling up, you should also get an epipen in case someday you have an anaphylactic reaction. Swelling allergies can become very serious very quickly, and you don't want to be unprepared if your throat suddenly closes over. Epipens are autoinjectors. In case of a severe reaction, you would press it to your thigh and push the button, and it would inject epinephrine to temporarily reverse the allergic reaction. They're not enough treatment in and of themselves, but they're supposed to give you enough time to get to a hospital.

I would really recommend that you see a doctor to get their opinion on what type of allergy it is so that you can get the right kind of drug for it.