Health Issues Hayfever & Seasonal allergies

[IamJen]

Liz, there are loads of contact drops that you can use, if you have soft lenses (don't know about any other types). I even used antihistamine drops one year. Right now, I have some Boots ones that help pretty well.

I have to admit, this year is the worst since I was a teen (when I was so sick, I'd miss school!). It was flaring up and I tried Cetirizine HCL but with no effect, so kept on with rinsing, eye drops, etc. for a few days until we went on holiday. The hay fever was gone, but I seemed to be reacting to something in the house where we stayed (suspect mold/mildew). I got some Loratadine and it worked like a charm, on the first day. When we came back, the hay fever was insane, so tried the Loratadine again, but nothing. Now, we're a week on and I'm debating a trip to the doctor/chemist. All sorts of itchy eyes/nose alternately running then stuffy, nosebleeds and now laryngitiis and trouble breathing. This is our 8th summer here and I never had anything like this. I'd experiment with drugs a bit more, but Freya is breastfeeding and there are only a couple of drugs considered to be safe for her and for milk supply.

 

[Pirate]

Yeah just normal soft lenses. I'll take another look in Boots then, you dont know the brand or the colour of the box or anything do you? when Ive looked before, all the hayfever/allergy specific ones say "dont use with contacts" and both the doctor and the optician said the same.

 

[ledboots]

I take an herb called FeverFew for my seasonal allergies, this has worked so much better than any OTC Allergy Relief I've tried (they all tend to make me feel awful, in some way or another). I try to only use herbs and natural remedies as much as possible, because my body tends is quite sensitive to drugs and OTC meds.

Some people find alfalfa tabs help, too.

 

[ledboots]

For allergic eyes, my daughter uses these. http://www.bausch.com/en/Our-Products/Allergy-Redness-Relief/alaway-eye-drops. She has to wait a few minutes before inserting her contact lenses after using them.

 

[Moll Flanders]

Hayfever Soars As Pollen Becomes More Potent - Yahoo! News UK

I saw this on Yahoo, apparently more and more people are developing hayfever symptoms. I developed it when I was in my twenties and then it stopped for a while and it came back in the last couple of years.

 

[IamJen]

Liz, I'm sorry I've just caught up now. The ones I'm using are not special allergy ones, just the Boots own brand contact lens ones in a blue/white bottle. They work pretty well. The antihistamine ones I got with a scrip a few years ago, but the chemist at Boots said they were okay with lenses and I didn't have any troubles.

 

[peacefulveglady]

My Sinuses are going batty and I went to day clinic to find out this time its just allergies, I am on a nasel spray , I was suppose to get another medication but its too much, looking for other ways to clear this up.

 

[SuicideBlonde]

I feel so very bad with allergies right now.

 

[SuicideBlonde]

It is back with a vengeance.

 

[Mr Crunchy]

I take Loratadine nearly year-round. It works OK, but I still get symptoms when it's really bad around this time of year. I've been hoarding a supply of pseudoephedrine since it was banned here years ago. I save them for those really bad days. I'm down to my last two tablets.

I tried the injections for a while about 30 years ago. The doctor who administered the allergy test said I had the most severe reaction he had ever seen. I quit doing the injections because I went into anaphylaxis shock after getting the shots one time. They didn't seem to be helping anyway, but I only got them for about 6 months.

 

[KLS52]

I like Claritin. It's one of the few allergy meds that don't have bad side effects for me. It works pretty well.

 

[Cerebellion]

My sympathies to anyone with the allergies. I'm in there with you. We've got these purple flowers that are overtaking everything around here and turning us into the great pollen bowl. None of the allergy medicines are really doable for me because of the side effects they have on my ability to concentrate, so I basically just suffer with it and keep a tissue handy.

 

[SuicideBlonde]

Nothing has been working for me. I take a 24 hour pill at night and I am still sneezing and itching in the morning.

 

[Joe]

One thing to do, if you have a central AC unit, is change the filter religiously, particularly during "allergy season." Never leave it in for more than 60 days. And get the filters with a high MERV rating (rating of size and quantity of particulates it removes from the air). No, the higher-rated ones are not cheap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MERV

I, too, take Claritin.

 

[ledboots]

I don't need it often, but zyrtec works pretty well for me without making me tired or wired. Lately I've taken the med a few times because the oak trees in my area are coating everything in pollen!

 

[KLS52]

Zyrtec knocked me for a loop but I tend to be sensitive to meds. I'm wondering how Allegra would be, if it would be similar to the Claritin.

 

[ledboots]

Allegra is the only one that works for my husband. Nothing makes him sleepy, so I'm not sure there. It allegedly is supposed to be non-drowsy, but of course everyone is different.

 

[Moll Flanders]

Hayfever hasn't started for me yet this year but I have some medication in the house just in case it starts.

None of the allergy medicines are really doable for me because of the side effects they have on my ability to concentrate

I used to have that problem as I was like a zombie on some of them.

 

[Mr Crunchy]

One thing to do, if you have a central AC unit, is change the filter religiously, particularly during "allergy season." Never leave it in for more than 60 days. And get the filters with a high MERV rating (rating of size and quantity of particulates it removes from the air). No, the higher-rated ones are not cheap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MERV

I, too, take Claritin.

Likewise for heater filters. And it really helps to have the air ducts cleaned if you can afford it.

P.S. Claritin = Loratadine

 

[Second Summer]

I fortunately don't suffer from this, but apparently it's pretty bad right now for a lot of people here in England & Wales.

Soaring numbers of patients are seeing their GP because of hay fever linked to the warm weather, amid predictions that a particularly severe pollen season could cause widespread suffering until the middle of next month.

The 11,873 people in England and Wales who visited their GP because of hay fever-type symptoms in the second week of June was 114% more than the 5,560 who did so in the same week last year.

More: Hay fever linked to warm weather causes soaring number of GP visits (The Guardian, 23. June 2014)