Hayfever !!!!

[dee]

Can anyone help?? im suffering so bad with hayfever this year, been taking clarityn tablets had eye drops but they all make matters worse, but still i have watery eyes and constant sneezing ( im a right catch these days, NOT) is there anything anyone could recommend?? PLEASE!!! :D

[LMC]

I'm lucky in never having suffered - sympathies.

On the odd occasion that I've needed anti-histamines for allergic reactions -bites mainly - I'm a sensitive little soul (that's mosquito bites and wasp stings for the record) I always found Zirtek very effective.

It may also be worth talking to an acupuncturist? I am a real sceptic when it comes to many alternative health measures, but tried it for another medical condition out of sheer desperation - and it were fantastic! - took me about 3 weeks (at one session/week) to really start reaping the benefits. Check that they are registered with the British Acupuncture Council (http://www.acupuncture.org.uk/)

Interestingly, although the Chinese wouldn't have known it however many thousand years ago acupuncture was invented, nerve cells can be over 1 m long - which might explain why a needle in your foot fixes something further up the body (the nerve cells being the mystical 'channels of energy'?).

[Rebecca]

i have watery eyes and constant sneezing ( im a right catch these days, NOT) is there anything anyone could recommend?? PLEASE!!! :D

I can recommend not spinning too fast in close proximity to your partner ;)

sorry :flower: get well soon

[under par]

I can recommend not spinning too fast in close proximity to your partner ;)

sorry :flower: get well soon


thats snot funny Rebecca :rofl: :rofl:


Sympathies to Dee and all sufferers :flower: :hug:

[Just Wiggle]

As a fellow hayfever sufferer I can sympathise!!

I have been through a number of remedies and have found that Benedryl is the best for me! It lasts 8 hours which is also better than some of the others where you have to take them every 4 hours.

Clarityn does nothing and Zirtec was no better (I think these have the same active ingredient...)

I think you have to try one and see if it works for you, I'm afraid!

Hope you find something that works for you soon!!

[Lory]

This is a weird one but I've heard from several people it does work.....

Find your local Bee Keeper and eat some locally produced honeycomb, it has to made from your local Bees, as apparently it only has effect if it's produced from the pollen collected from your surrounding area.

It allegedly has a desensitising effect :)

I suffered from it as a teenager but luckily for me, I seem to have grown out of it :clap:

[Zebra Woman]

Hmm Clarityn didn't work for me either Dee. :tears:

I am a firm believer in the merits of 'Beconase'. It's a nasal spray, works brilliantly for me with no drowsiness at all. I only get hayfever in June so I'm very lucky. But I still have to buy a fresh bottle each season as it goes off. :sad:

Good luck Dee, let us know when you find your solution. :flower:

[Aleks]

This is a weird one but I've heard from several people it does work.....

Find your local Bee Keeper and eat some locally produced honeycomb, it has to made from your local Bees, as apparently it only has effect if it's produced from the pollen collected from your surrounding area.

It allegedly has a desensitising effect :)

I suffered from it as a teenager but luckily for me, I seem to have grown out of it :clap:

This is what most natural medicine practitioners will suggest - and it really does work. The only drawback is that you should have started taking it at least 2 weeks before you expect the pollen count to rise to avoid all symptoms so ti might take a few days to begin to see its effects. Neal's Yard also do a great tea blend that's good for hay fever sufferers. They will also have a herbalist who will be able to recommend a tincture that will suit you too (thyme tincture is good for all things Ear-Nose-Throat).

[dee]

This is a weird one but I've heard from several people it does work.....

Find your local Bee Keeper and eat some locally produced honeycomb, it has to made from your local Bees, as apparently it only has effect if it's produced from the pollen collected from your surrounding area.

It allegedly has a desensitising effect :)

I suffered from it as a teenager but luckily for me, I seem to have grown out of it :clap:


Ive heard of this before, thats it i need to try it. My sister thinks i should go out in a divers suit, but think i may try other remedies first :rofl: :flower:

[Whitebeard]

Can anyone help?? im suffering so bad with hayfever this year, been taking clarityn tablets had eye drops but they all make matters worse, but still i have watery eyes and constant sneezing ( im a right catch these days, NOT) is there anything anyone could recommend?? PLEASE!!!

I really do sympathise as I suffered badly from this myself for many years and it does make life very miserable indeed. Sneezing and dribbling all day and having buldging pockets of soggy handkerchiefs was not pleasant (at least we have paper tissues these days). Eventually one July, and it was many moons ago, it failed to materialise and I've been free of it ever since - so there's hope on the horizon. But, until then .....

I found anti-hystamines to be no help whatsoever and eventually found a doctor who ordered me to drop my trousers (very CJ like) whilst he wielded a syringe loaded with Depo-Medrone (a cortico-steroid) and targeted the exposed gluteous maximus with evil intent. Still, it did the trick and remained effective for about six weeks. It seemed almost magical and a couple of jabs annually made a real difference to my enjoyment of summer.

If everything else fails it might be worth bringing up in those discussions with your doc.

[ChrisA]

I am a firm believer in the merits of 'Beconase'. It's a nasal spray, works brilliantly for me with no drowsiness at all.
..... :yeah:

It was prescription only when it first converted my summers from hell into fun.

It's over the counter now, less than a fiver in Tesco's pharmacy for the bigger bottle which lasts a couple of months.

It takes a few days of regular use before the relief reaches a maximum, so you need to keep using it even when you're free from symptoms.

For the watery itchy eyes, "Opticrom" eye drops works for me. Again, a bit less than a fiver, and it takes several days of regular use to reach an effective level, but I find it works well.

[Little Monkey]

All my sympathy!!! :hug:

I've suffered from hayfever as well as all the allergies known to man since I was a teenager. I've been on ceterizine (same as zirtec) for years, but find they're not very good. In summer, I have to take ceterizine, beconase and sometimes eyedrops as well, to get any relief. When it gets too bad, I go to my doc to get some strong anti-histamines that make me pretty drowsy (you can't get them over the counter, but I can't remember the name), but at least they're better than any of the non-prescription ones...

My best advice is to go and see your GP, and explain that the medication you're on doesn't have an effect at all. You might need to get injections? But I'd try the honey tip as well! Heard it's very effective!

Good luck!

LM

[dee]

Thanks everyone for all the advise :flower: im off to find my local farm shop to get some honey. Been to the doctors and he has put me on all the tablets imaginable will see what he says about the injection, must say ive never had it this bad :tears:

[Dizzy]

Can anyone help?? im suffering so bad with hayfever this year, been taking clarityn tablets had eye drops but they all make matters worse, but still i have watery eyes and constant sneezing ( im a right catch these days, NOT) is there anything anyone could recommend?? PLEASE!!! :D


Head to Brighton!!! :clap:

Sorry, it is probably not much help but I have a friend that suffers very badly with hayfever and being in London, she nearly suffocates so on really bad days, she takes the day off and heads down to the coast where the sea air has no allergens and she is sble to breathe much better.......

........plus there are some fab shops around the back streets of Brighton!! :grin:

[Lynn]

As a fellow hayfever sufferer I can sympathise!!

I have been through a number of remedies and have found that Benedryl is the best for me! It lasts 8 hours which is also better than some of the others where you have to take them every 4 hours. I only seem to have developed hayfever the past couple of years but I have found Benedryl works for me. I have also heard of the honey and there is a pine bark supplement that is supposed to help - I'm trying that. I think it might be helping as I haven't been as bad recently.

I also find changing my pillowcase every couple of days seems to help - the pollen probably gets onto it from my hair - not sure if this does help or if its just my imagination.

I didn't have any problems at Southport or in Spain, so maybe dancing drives it away! (OK, more likely to be the coastal breezes!) I would like to see if I can get tested to see what pollen I am allergic to as that might be useful information.

[David Bailey]

Head to Brighton!!! :clap:

Sorry, it is probably not much help but I have a friend that suffers very badly with hayfever and being in London, she nearly suffocates so on really bad days, she takes the day off and heads down to the coast where the sea air has no allergens and she is sble to breathe much better..
:yeah: Totally - it's not just hayfever, it's air quality. London air over the last weekend was abysmal, I found myself short of breath a few times, I definitely considered going away for the weekend...

[dee]

Tried to get some local honey but was told the local bee keeper is on holiday and they have run out of stock, travelled around Aylesbury and no hope as yet but will keep trying. Had a look at benedryl and will purchase some on friday as its very expensive but hope it does the trick. Off to spain next weekend so hope i have a week free of all this as its making me very miserable :tears: Thanks for all the advise :clap:

[Ballroom queen]

Clarityn does nothing and Zirtec was no better (I think these have the same active ingredient...)



Clarityn is Loratidine, Zirtec is Cetirizine - both non-sedating anti-histamines, but not identical. Worth trying each, some people find one works better than the other. Worth trying Chlorpheniramine / Chlorphenamine (Trade name Piriton), anti-histamine BUT causes drowsiness - but VERY useful at night - try one dose of this each night as well as a non-sedating antihistamine in the morning, better regularly. The steroid nasal sprays - beconase, Flixonase are good, best used regularly, but personnally I hate nasal sprays. I would be surprised if a doc gave you a steroid jab or tabs unless very bad and affecting breathing - ie more like asthma / wheeze rather than hay fever, eyes and snot. For eyes opticrom - sodium cromoglycate is FAB, but NOT with contact lenses, as I found to my cost earlier this year.

The air quality in london is **** at the mo, can't count how many asthma attacks we've had admitted in the last week!

I've also heard the honey theory, but must be local honey.

good luck

[Little Monkey]

Worth trying Chlorpheniramine / Chlorphenamine (Trade name Piriton), anti-histamine BUT causes drowsiness - but VERY useful at night - try one dose of this each night as well as a non-sedating antihistamine in the morning, better regularly.

Aaaaah, that's what it's called.... Tried to remember the name of those tablets, thanks!! They work for me, at least better than ceterizine! And in combination with beconase it's pretty good. And I get a wee bit drowsy from Piriton, but not enough to make me sleep.... Unfortunately!


The air quality in london is **** at the mo, can't count how many asthma attacks we've had admitted in the last week!

Aaaaah, the fond memories.... One of my first asthma attacks was in London. July, hot, lots of pollen and an air quality you could cut with a knife... Yuc! And being used to the rather cleaner air of Norway..... Nasty. I couldn't live in London, particularly during the summer! I'll just have to put up with the midges up here in Scotland instead! Freash air, fresh water and midgies galore. Hooray!

Monkey

[skippy]

I never suffered until I came back from living in Norway, which was I think because of the good clean air over there it was hard to adjust when we move back to the UK. :tears:
I seem to be rather odd when it comes to hayfever ;-(
When it says it high I'm normally quite good but when it says it going to be low I am hit really bad. :(
I have noticed this year that after walking the dogs my eyes become very itchy.
Go to the doctors to get a perscription for clarityn cause If you get a nice doctor like mine he gives me thirty tablets for only £6.80 but if you buy over the counter it's so expensive, 7 tablets for £7.
I know which one I would choose !!!!! :flower: :yeah:

[Little Monkey]

Go to the doctors to get a perscription for clarityn cause If you get a nice doctor like mine he gives me thirty tablets for only £6.80 but if you buy over the counter it's so expensive, 7 tablets for £7.
I know which one I would choose !!!!! :flower: :yeah:

Nonono! Much cheaper to get it from superdrug, boots, tesco etc. If you go for a tablet that contains the same active ingredient as clarityne (loratidine), but under a different name, you can get it for 99p for 7! Which works out as 14p per tablet instead of almost 23p a tablet!

The same goes for Zyrtec (ceterizine). Don't get the brand-name, just go for another product that contains the exact same active ingredient. You get ceterizine for 99p for 7 as well.

Monkey

[skippy]

I've tried other types and they all seem to not work so well. :tears:

[Little Monkey]

I've tried other types and they all seem to not work so well. :tears:

Well, anything containing loratadine, which is what's in clarityne, will do exactly the same (as it is the same medicine, just a different brand name!), but much cheaper....... Ye'r being ripped off, darlin'....

I used to get zirtec from my doc, but then discovered I could get ceterizine tablets (same as zirtec) soooooooooo much cheaper....

Saying that, none of the above really work when my allergies are bad, and then I have to go back to the ones that make me drowsy.

LM

[Barry Shnikov]

Well, anything containing loratadine, which is what's in clarityne, will do exactly the same (as it is the same medicine, just a different brand name!), but much cheaper....... Ye'r being ripped off, darlin'....


Same same ibuprofen and Nurofen. Costs 10 times as much, which is probably about half as much as they spend on advertising to persuade everyone that there's something special about Nurofen. Buy Galpharm ibuprofen and get the same active ingredient for about 37 for 16 tablets instead of £2 odd for 12.

When I was young and naive it took me ages to get my head round the idea that people were prepared to pay over the odds for Anadin which was just a brand name for aspirin. Anytime you want to know why companies spend so much on advertising...

[Whitebeard]

Anytime you want to know why companies spend so much on advertising...
But it works for them, doesn't it ??? Crazy, crazy, crazy. I can't even wholly exclude myself, the most cynical cynic this side of "Beanz meanz Heinz."

[Ballroom queen]

But it works for them, doesn't it ??? Crazy, crazy, crazy. I can't even wholly exclude myself, the most cynical cynic this side of "Beanz meanz Heinz."

I guess the difference is taste.

generic drugs generally are as effective as the brand equivalent, however there may be formulation differences - eg calpol liquid (paracetamol for kids) tastes nice, disprol - cheaper alternative doesn't. same as cheap beans and cheap corn flakes don't taste the same. however if you're buying a tablet - paracetamol, ibuprofen, ceterizine etc then the formulation isn't of issue. Neurofen try to make out that their gel filled capsules work quicker coz the drug is already in solution, but the tabs don't take THAT long to work!!!

(please note in some situations branded drugs, in particular anti-convulsants, should be used rather than generics as the release profiles are important; end of technical info)

[Barry Shnikov]

(please note in some situations branded drugs, in particular anti-convulsants, should be used rather than generics as the release profiles are important; end of technical info)

Exactamundo. If it's safe to take a generic alternative to a prescribed drug, a doctor will generally (in my experience) tell you so. If he or she does not give the OK, then the patient MUST assume that there is not a safe generic alternative, that must be right. If in doubt, ask.

[Stuart]

I find that Benadryl works for me, although I have switched this year from the one a day tablets to the normal ones.

I did try the honey a couple of years ago, but found that it didn't work for me.

[skippy]

I did try the honey a couple of years ago, but found that it didn't work for me.

Apparently it only works if it from the local area to where you live.
I personnal don't like honey unless it's in HOt Toddie!!! :whistle:

[Aleks]

The last couple of days I've been taking Bee Pollen tablets which have stopped my sneezy, itchy nose and streaming eyes. Has anyone else tried these?

[Lynn]

Nonono! Much cheaper to get it from superdrug, boots, tesco etc. If you go for a tablet that contains the same active ingredient as clarityne (loratidine), but under a different name, you can get it for 99p for 7! Which works out as 14p per tablet instead of almost 23p a tablet! NB - Boots have a 2 for 1 offer on their packs of 7 or 30 all day loratidine - which works out about £7 for 60. I'm trying them as it would be a lot cheaper than Benadryl - only been a couple of days and my hayfever is quite bad, but I think that's because of the weather.

Interested in the bee pollen tablets Aleks - where do you get them?

[Aleks]

They're a Forever Living product (I happen to be a distributor), but you can order their stuff on line (delivery is a flat fee of £6 whatever you order and I think they cost about £12 for 90) or find a local distributor. If you're interested PM me - I could probably organise to send you some for you to try them.

[Tessalicious]

The last couple of days I've been taking Bee Pollen tablets which have stopped my sneezy, itchy nose and streaming eyes. Has anyone else tried these?That's very interesting, because I was given some of these to try for preventing hayfever, and was thoroughly put off by the disclaimer on the side which said something along the lines of 'not to be taken by allergy sufferers, could cause severe reactions or anaphylatic shock'. Why put that, if the point of taking them is to cure hayfever which is, erm, an allergy?

[Daisy Chain]

I read an interesting article (in Prima, I think) that recommended smearing Vaseline at the entrance to your nostrils. Apparently, it traps the pollen grains and stop them irritating the nasal membranes.

Got to be worth a try :flower:

Daisy

(An Old Wives FLower)

[Tessalicious]

I read an interesting article (in Prima, I think) that recommended smearing Vaseline at the entrance to your nostrils. Apparently, it traps the pollen grains and stop them irritating the nasal membranes.

Got to be worth a try :flower:

Daisy

(An Old Wives FLower)
Yep, although the version I heard of that was putting a little on your cheekbones to catch anything before it gets into your eyes. Not too high up though, or everything looks a bit foggy...

[Lynn]

That's very interesting, because I was given some of these to try for preventing hayfever, and was thoroughly put off by the disclaimer on the side which said something along the lines of 'not to be taken by allergy sufferers, could cause severe reactions or anaphylatic shock'. Why put that, if the point of taking them is to cure hayfever which is, erm, an allergy? Did it maybe refer to if you are allergic to bee stings?

[Dizzy]

That's very interesting, because I was given some of these to try for preventing hayfever, and was thoroughly put off by the disclaimer on the side which said something along the lines of 'not to be taken by allergy sufferers, could cause severe reactions or anaphylatic shock'. Why put that, if the point of taking them is to cure hayfever which is, erm, an allergy?

Or it could be referring to people who are allergic to the type of medication that it is, like penecillin allergy.

[Tessalicious]

I don't think so, they stated that they were a natural product containing only bee pollen - so no drugs like penicillin and, I would have thought, none of the allergenic toxin from bee stings either (since technically bees don't produce pollen, they just collect and transport it, so bee stings and bee pollen aren't related at all). So it really really was "Take this product to cure pollen allergy, but if you have pollen allergy it might be bad for you!" A strange case of "The hair of the dog" methinks?

[Lynn]

I don't think so, they stated that they were a natural product containing only bee pollen - so no drugs like penicillin and, I would have thought, none of the allergenic toxin from bee stings either (since technically bees don't produce pollen, they just collect and transport it, so bee stings and bee pollen aren't related at all). So it really really was "Take this product to cure pollen allergy, but if you have pollen allergy it might be bad for you!" A strange case of "The hair of the dog" methinks? It could work like vaccinations do - give you a mild reaction in order to build up resistance? But if you are likely to have a severe reaction like anaphylatic shock, which can be fatal, then don't take them?

Did anyone see that programme on allergies last night? Shows how severe they can be and how serious.

[Stuart]

I read that Stinging Nettles are supposed to be a good remedy for Hay Fever. Apparently you need to find freshly grown nettles, and sting your self with these. The body will then produce masses of anti-histamine to counter the nettle stings, and this will also cure your Hay Fever for the year. Personally I'll stick to the tablets!

The Romans apparently used to use nettles to treat arthritis. Presumably the pain from the nettles was so bad that it took your mind off the arthritis!

[Tessalicious]

I read that Stinging Nettles are supposed to be a good remedy for Hay Fever. Apparently you need to find freshly grown nettles, and sting your self with these. The body will then produce masses of anti-histamine to counter the nettle stings, and this will also cure your Hay Fever for the year. Personally I'll stick to the tablets!

The Romans apparently used to use nettles to treat arthritis. Presumably the pain from the nettles was so bad that it took your mind off the arthritis!
That makes no sense - your body makes histamine in reaction to nettle stings and allergy, which is what causes the inflammatory symptoms that we hate so much. You take anti-histamines to stop your body from reacting to the allergen, not because they do something clever to the causative agent. I'd love to know how nettles are really supposed to help, but I'm not convinced.

[Stuart]

That makes no sense - your body makes histamine in reaction to nettle stings and allergy, which is what causes the inflammatory symptoms that we hate so much. You take anti-histamines to stop your body from reacting to the allergen, not because they do something clever to the causative agent. I'd love to know how nettles are really supposed to help, but I'm not convinced.

I don't know how it was supposed to work. I just read it in the Evening Standard a couple of weeks ago.