Here's a tip that might help.
When you're checking notifications, you'll see how some say "so-and-so replied to your image" and other ones say "so-and-so replied to your comment."
I only check the ones that say "replied to your comment." The reason I do that is that I can respond to the "replied to your image" ones from My Images, which I find quicker than navigating them all from the Notifications page.
Also, I use Control + click to open a new tab, so I don't lose my spot on the Notifications page and have to scroll down to it again. :D