# Hay fever



## gaz (25 May 2010)

Usual simptions. This is the first time I've had it, any good ways to avoid this?the eyes, nose and throught are killing me!!!


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## ianrauk (25 May 2010)

Piriteze work for me Gaz...


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## Rob3rt (25 May 2010)

Allergy pills, and vary the brands you use (look for brands with different active components) because if you stick with the same one it will stop working after a while. At least it does for me and everyone I know and have spoken to about it (so not really that many people ).

edit: Also if you dont already, wearing glasses of some sort while cycling might help.


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## Bandini (25 May 2010)

Prescription Telfast from the docs are best for me.


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## HaloJ (25 May 2010)

Had it all my life. I used to get it really bad. I take antihystemine pretty much every morning during summer. A few little extras though when it gets really bad.....

Always wear glasses to keep the pollen and other irritents out of your eyes.

Dab milk under your eyes. It has a cooling effect and also attracts a good quantity of the evil pollen.

Abs


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## yello (25 May 2010)

HaloJ said:


> Dab milk under your eyes.



I'll have to try that. I find the eye itch the most annoying part of hay fever.

I'm lucky though, I find generic antihistamines, one a day for 3 or 4 days a week for a couple of weeks works well enough for me (except the eyes!). For the rest of the summer, I'm fine.


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## e-rider (25 May 2010)

I tried every over-the-counter medication and only one worked (the only non non-drowsy) - Piriton (not piriteze).

The make me sleepy but do relieve the symptoms effectively. The advantage of them not being non-drowsy is that they are cheap.


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## Coco (25 May 2010)

Try to find out what pollen it is that's causing your problem. Took me ages, but now know its trees and I try to avoid them.

I use the 3-4 a day antihistamine tablets. I find the one-a-days don't last long enough.

Lots of things to try, so don't be surprised if what works for other people doesn't work for you.


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## buddha (25 May 2010)

I alternate between Cetirizine (25p for 30 days) one day and Loratadine (59p for 30 days) the next. Seems to have worked for the last few years.


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## Norm (25 May 2010)

buddha said:


> I alternate between Cetirizine (25p for 30 days) one day and Loratadine (59p for 30 days) the next. Seems to have worked for the last few years.


These two have different classes of active wotsits, so you can take them together. They shouldn't cause any drowsiness and, although they are present in many branded medicines (Clarityn contains Loratadine, for example), the generics are generally just as good and very cheap.

Hay fever is a catch-all term for an allergy (mostly) to air-borne pollen. There are many hundreds of plants and trees which produce pollen, and there is no single cure because different people are allergic to different things and they react differently to the drugs.

Local honey also works well for me, but might not be available in South Croydon. 

Oh, and, for some strange reason, eating apples *always* reduces my symptoms. Never figured out why, though.


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## Hacienda71 (25 May 2010)

If you are getting it now it is more likely to be tree type pollen. The grass pollen kicks in more in June. I take antihistamines and if it is particularly dry and windy I will supplement with a Beconaise nasal inhaler. This takes a couple of days before it works well, also as mentioned earlier wear glasses


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## Norm (25 May 2010)

Keeping the bridge of the nose cool also helps me when it's really bad. But I get hay fever (from grasses) and as Hacienda says, that hasn't really kicked in yet this year. 

It usually starts right in the middle of exam week, from O and A levels through Uni exams and professional exams more recently, they always time the exams with the week that the grass pollen bites hardest.


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## redjedi (26 May 2010)

Mine started last night. It's the second year I've suffered and it feels ten times worse this year.

I'll be getting all of the above and making an anti-histamine smoothie


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## e-rider (26 May 2010)

I've been getting it for 20+ years without a single year off. However, this year seems to be very good so far so I'm guessing for whatever reason that something is starting late this year.


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## longers (26 May 2010)

I saw a device in the chemist today that you stick up your nose and it radiates red light to soothe the inflamed tissues. Apparently. 

Anyone used one or heard of them? It'd make a good present for me dad if they work as he gets it bad.


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## Kablinsky (26 May 2010)

Becanase nasal inhaler for me. One big squirt in each nostril every morning from end of April onwards. It's the only thing that's helped over the years.


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## sarahpink (26 May 2010)

i dont get it every year but this year have it, got some of boots own brand which are crap of to my gp next to see what she can recommend. hope you find something that works


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## RyanW (27 May 2010)

piriton is my personal anti-histamine of choice, although it doe cause mild drowsiness. loratadine just dosent seem to have the potency, also with piriton you have the option to take 3 a day, so can regulate it so the drug to kick in at the right time.

the local honey works wonders (desensitizes you to the local allergens if you care about such things) goes great on toast or just pig out and eat it from the jar. Make sure you wash your face after going out to remove any antigens (pollen) on your face. also wash eyes out can help reduce effects.

Put a damn flannel in the freezer and put it on your face when things flair up. helps reduce the sting and redness you can get.

Sadly there is no cure, FYI current thinking links allergies to a overly clean lifestyle, basicly your bodys immune response to parasitic worms (Mmmm) is so underused it starts responding to things that arnt pathogenic.

If you have kids, dont be a hygine freak, it will cause far more harm then good.

Anyways rant over, hope i have helped. 

(lifetime sufferer of both contact hypersensitivity, dermatitis and hayfever(im fuc*ed)


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## sleekitcollie (27 May 2010)

Most of the anti hist have been covered . I always ware wrap around sunglasses even on cloudy days they do help also when in the car / truck in my case don't drive with the window open as especially on motorways the pollin is whipped up from passing traffic and finds it's way into car . Just now the pollen is from oil seed rape it's horrable stuff and can bring on symptoms in people that don't usually suffer from it . It's that bad I'm sure it is , or certainly was a few years ago banned in lots of E U countrys apart from yeah u guessed it . The UK . And farmers got bonuses for growing it here . 
Only other bit of advice I have is TRY not to rub ur eyes . I know it's so hard but if start rubbing it only gets worse .


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## Norm (27 May 2010)

RyanW said:


> Put a damn flannel in the freezer and put it on your face when things flair up. helps reduce the sting and redness you can get.


Why should the damn flannel go in the damn freezer?  I think Ryan was suggesting a damp flannel, which is a great idea.



sleekitcollie said:


> Just now the pollen is from oil seed rape it's horrable stuff and can bring on symptoms in people that don't usually suffer from it .


 A common misconception. "Hay fever" is caused by airborne pollen, rape is pollinated by insects. 

The misconception is generally attributed to rape having a strong smell which comes out at the same time as many trees distribute their pollen, so people smell the rape flowers at the same time as they get hay fever and the two get associated.



sleekitcollie said:


> It's that bad I'm sure it is , or certainly was a few years ago banned in lots of E U countrys apart from yeah u guessed it . The UK . And farmers got bonuses for growing it here.


Got anything to support that one? We've been growing it for decades, the Canadians have been growing it since the 19th century, I've never heard of anywhere banning it and, aside from your misunderstanding on its effect on hay fever sufferers and a smell which some people don't like, I've never heard of a problem with it.


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## barq (29 May 2010)

My tip is before going for a bike ride rub a little Vaseline around your nostrils for that lovely wet, shiny nose effect.  Seriously though, it does stop you inhaling so much pollen. Glasses help the eyes too.

If you end up using cetirizine or loratadine you can get them very cheaply from supermarkets. Even with Piriton some pharmacies do a generic equivalent which is cheaper. Annoyingly the one that helps me most is acrivastine (available as Benadryl). I must book at GP appointment and get it prescribed, because at £4.29 a box of 12 (and you take 3 a day) it gets pricey.


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## sleekitcollie (29 May 2010)

Norm said:


> Got anything to support that one? We've been growing it for decades, the Canadians have been growing it since the 19th century, I've never heard of anywhere banning it and, aside from your misunderstanding on its effect on hay fever sufferers and a smell which some people don't like, I've never heard of a problem with it.


no nothing to support it afraid , i did read an article once years ago about it ,
can you show any info that oil seed rape does not effect peoples health. 
most of the Tree pollen has passed now , and people do get affected by oil seed rape
found this http://oilseedrape.org.uk/ 
where i live we are surrounded by the stuff now , the years we have it my father cant leave the house is symptoms are that bad , not just hey fever , asthma etc as well , but the years oil seed rape are not grown around us , he can go out and is not nearly as badly affected . 
trees are there every year


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## jazzkat (29 May 2010)

tundragumski said:


> I've been getting it for 20+ years without a single year off. However, this year seems to be very good so far so I'm guessing for whatever reason that something is starting late this year.


Same here



Bandini said:


> Prescription Telfast from the docs are best for me.


I went to see the doc this year for something else and asked him for a repeat prescription while I was there. He said that telfast was his secret weapon, expensive, but really works. I can't quibble, one a day and I'm right as rain, although I don't suffer like some do, its just the sore eyes and snotty nose for me



barq said:


> I must book at GP appointment and get it prescribed, because at £4.29 a box of 12 (and you take 3 a day) it gets pricey.



get to the docs, I get two months supply on one prescription.



Norm said:


> It usually starts right in the middle of exam week, from O and A levels through Uni exams and professional exams more recently, they always time the exams with the week that the grass pollen bites hardest.



same as me. Mine started right in the middle of my o-levels (showing my age) and has been with me for the last 25 years.


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## Norm (29 May 2010)

jazzkat said:


> same as me. Mine started right in the middle of my o-levels (showing my age) and has been with me for the last 25 years.


+1 Only it was 30 years ago for me.


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## Norm (29 May 2010)

sleekitcollie said:


> no nothing to support it afraid , i did read an article once years ago about it ,
> can you show any info that oil seed rape does not effect peoples health.
> most of the Tree pollen has passed now , and people do get affected by oil seed rape
> found this http://oilseedrape.org.uk/
> ...


"_Perhaps a starting point should be Government recognition that oilseed rape (rapeseed/canola) is most definitely a cause of ill health (allergy, hayfever, conjunctivitis and asthma type symptoms) _" shows, to me, that they just want to see if they can justify their assumptions. There's little else on the site which stands up to much scrutiny.

The one thing that site has which has some scientific justification is that VOC's are present in greater volumes around rape fields, and those may aggravate symptoms in some people. 

It doesn't affect the basic fact that hay fever cannot be brought on by anything which doesn't produce wind-borne pollen, though.


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