..of Hay Fever! A relatively recent affliction for me, but it's really bad at the moment and none of the usual cures seem to work.

It's a lovely day outside but I'm reluctant to go out there for fear of making matters worse than they are.

Anyone got any wonder cures they might share with me and others similarly affected?

Hi Tony,
Its new to me to as of a few years back when i went on a school trip in the 90s. Took a load of kids to Maidstone museum.
I got off the coach and they were cutting the grass.That was it all hell broke out up my nose.
Then we went to Moat park for lunch, and a tractor was cutting the grass there.
I got through four kitchen rolls that day.
I have had it ever since.
I am lucky though it just makes my nose run big time and i sneeze alot.
When i open my patio doors in the morning i sneeze for around a hour.
Try one of those builders masks from BQ.
Go see your Doctor (not Peter) and get his veiws on what to take for it.
Munch

Poor you. As someone whose ashthma goes crazy in spring when things start blossoming, I have every sympathy!

If you can't go outside, at least listen to some music!

Cetirizine tablets, available over the counter at chemists.

See you soon,
James

PS Or, regular doses of red wine (perhaps that was the sort of cure you were thinking of?)

Go to the US and buy tablets! Their ones seem to work for me, even perscription stuff here seems not to!

I never had hay fever at all as a kid but around 10-15 years ago it started and I've no idea why. I cough and sneeze regularly (I've occasionally sneezed non stop 30 or 40 times on the trot). This on its own is a bit inconvenient but no worse than that. However last year I took a severe allergic reaction to something and my eyes swelled so much they were almost completely closed. I woke up one morning and they were a bit puffy, the next day I looked like I'd gone 15 rounds with Mike Tyson. Again, no idea what caused it. The doc was sure it was merely an allergic reaction and gave me cetirizine and something else for it. I also developed sebaceous psoriasis in my scalp at the same time and although the doc reckoned they weren't connected I'm still concerned there's more to it.

Hello fellow sufferer!
Having assumed that you've tried all the usual over the counter remedies such as Clarityn, Benadryl etc to no avail, a trip to the quacks may be a good idea.
The hayfever season is in full swing at the moment, or at least reaching one of its peaks for certain pollens. Another week or two (or a bit more rain) & you may find that it has subsided.
Other remedies which may work for you are ;-
Eat LOCAL honey, the idea being that it gets your immune system to micro doses of the local pollens
Use Vaseline smeared into your nostrils to catch any pollen before it gets further into your system.
Try to avoid going outdoors early in the morning, & in the evening, as this is when pollen is likely to be most mobile, due to temperature changes.
Hopefully you'll find something that works for you, it can be a real bugger.
Matt.

hi tony,
i suffer badly too with the dreaded hay fever.
i have sore eyes itchy throat and sneeze a lot.
ive gone through every imaginable remedy without success. i use eye drops,throat sweets and take tablets. ruins my bloody summers i can tell you. the wife reckons i should try homeopathy as it works on my daughter....i just might give it a go-nothing to lose!
regards, dave

I've suffered from hayfever for as long as I can remember. In the past few years I find that the twin use of Clarytin or Loratedin (sp.?) plus Beconase nasal spray, provides some (temporary) relief. One thing worth bearing in mind, though, is to start the treatment early on, or preferably before the hayfever season starts, ie. mid- to late-April I reckon. Then at least you can build up some immunity in time when those miserable high-pollen count-type days strike!

Tony
Total sympathy. I've had it since I was a small boy. In my teens it was a bugger as it always coincided with exam season (to which I was also allergic!).

I have done the rounds of all the antihistamines. Cetirizine is the drug of choice at the moment. I was so bad at the weekend I went to see the GP on Monday. He said that actually all the usual drugs do pretty much the same thing. However, he did write me up for a new American pill called Singulair. It is aimed at asthma but does also reduce the HF symptoms and can be taken in conjunction with your usual antihistamine. On day 3 now and my symptoms do seem to have subsided somewhat.

The downside is that the new one costs the NHS a pound a pill, so it is not being widely presribed, where as the antihistamines are now all available as generics and so are cheap as chips.

The itchy and red eyes are a real pain. I can usually reist the urge to rub them but once I do that they really look and feel terrible. He wrote me up for Octanol drops, which do seem quite effective.

Hope you find something that works!

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Kelly:
...a new American pill called Singulair...

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators are probing a possible connection between Merck & Co Inc's blockbuster Singulair asthma drug and suicidal behavior in adults and children..." Reuters 28th March 2008

I developed hay fever when I was about 12 years old, but I was assured that I would grow out of it. Well, here I am, sixty bloody years later and I'm still waiting.
Ken

You have my sympathy, but I cannot say I know how you feel as I don't suffer from allergies. Perhaps I'll come and live in the country and you can live in the town!

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by tonym:
..of Hay Fever! A relatively recent affliction for me, but it's really bad at the moment and none of the usual cures seem to work.

It's a lovely day outside but I'm reluctant to go out there for fear of making matters worse than they are.

Anyone got any wonder cures they might share with me and others similarly affected?

Move to the North Pole, none of it up here

Thanks for all your good advice chaps - looks like there isn't a magic cure out there yet. I tend to favour James' red wine cure (or rather, an excellent means of forgetting the misery you're in)!

Thankfully we've had a fair splash of rain overnight so it's not so bad today. Just returned from the chemist with a different formulation of eye drops. I'm hoping they might be more effective.

Boots non-drowsy tablets were effective for me, but bung you up obviously.
I suspect the only cure is a move to the coast, preferably abroad, away from all this oilseed rape, or rapeseed oil, or whatever it is.

f****g pain in the arse is what it is!!

quote:

oilseed rape

You think it's bad now! Wait until they harvest it!

Loratidine or Cetirizine tablets work for me.

quote:

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators are probing a possible connection between Merck & Co Inc's blockbuster Singulair asthma drug and suicidal behavior in adults and children..."

Not feeling any more suicidal than I do on any morning when I'm in the gym at 0630! Interesting info though James. Thank you. I'll be wary of heights and sharp objects while I'm taking these things.