The Mother F#%*+<\ Hay Fever Thread

So we’re experiencing an all time high pollen count in the UK. Due to a lot of earlier than expected hot weather and rain.

Thought it might be worth comparing notes on how best to manage symptoms, it can really ruin your summer.

In the past I’ve used steroidal nasal sprays, along with anti-histamine pills and eye drops as needed. Though I try to avoid anti-histamines as much I can now since it was connected to Alzheimers. Keeping good practice by showering and changing clothes each time I get back home has helped, and even sealing the gaps of a garden door with wide white electrical tape have all been helpful in reducing exposure. Also am pro-active with the vaseline, use that shit “before” things get sore!

It’s been diabolical this year, and it’s set to get worse. I’m even experiencing mild-moderate breathing difficulties, and can’t even have the fan on when it’s hot. I’m looking into air purifiers now too, and have been reading up at thewirecutter and Which? (UK equivalent of Consumer Reports) where they measure performance and noise. From what’s available I’m considering a high powered contraption from Winix or Philips. Anyone have any experience they can share?

 

Frankly, bring those antihistamines on. I have been known to get not just allergic asthma, but to be functionally blinded by blistered eyeballs. Modern antihistamines are a funking revelation compared to the ones I had as a kid, or the ones that I beta tested as a teenager.

Some years, a specific antihistamine won't cut it for me, and I need to use one of the others. I tend to rotate through cetirizine (first choice), loratadine and acrivastine (spelling to taste) until I find one that does the job. I also use the steroid nose spray, even if it does make your nose smell odd.

 

Is so nice to have no allergies. Best wishes.

 

If it's nasal allergies, grab a Neti Pot.

My allergies were so bad that I couldn't do anything the entire day, and no amount of antihistamines helped. Within 5 minutes of using the Neti Pot to clear my sinuses, I was completely back to normal.

Try it out. Changed my life.

Hell, you don't even need a Neti Pot if you're in a pinch. Grab a bowl, some bottled water or boiled tap water that's been cooled, mix in a little salt, and clear your sinuses with that solution over the sink, then gently blow your nose once you're done.

It's gross, but that shit works.

 

Where’s that bastard dislike button when you need it!

 

Why do you think I post that now? Muahahahaaaa

 

I am usually not bothered by "hay fever" until I hop on my tractor and mow my 2 acre backyard.....then all hell breaks loose and I take my wife's OTC meds.

 

I’ve tried something that sounds similar, to no avail. It’s called Stérimar. It’s a “micro-diffused sea water” spray. But maybe it’s a bit too gentle in application compared to the Neti.

Not even the usual interventions are particularly effective this year. Certainly better than nothing though.

A couple of other things I’ve found helpful are freeing my enviroment from any other allergens like dust with some deep hooverin’. I used to be a smoker and that would exascerbate things a lot, so try and stop that shit.

 

When the nose tingles, you grab your pills and take your appropriate dose before you spray your surroundings with your saliva. Clean air and clean house become something you need to breathe in. Too much dirt and dust, you leave or clean up.

Yeah, I am an obsessive cleaner these days...

 

Born & raised in US. Lived in Herts from age 34 to 43. Always had allergies since I was a kid, but over there it was crippling. Could barely function some days. Tried some OTC stuff, but little help. Never tried the nasal sprays/neti pot. On moving back to the US, someone suggested to me going to an allergist and starting the desensitizing shots. It took just about a year, but it made a hell of a difference

You will have to continue for a few years before you can take a chance of dropping off the shots. I'm actually still on them, over 15 years now, because it doesn't cost me much and I can find someone at home to administer them. Some medical plans cover it, some don't and it can be pretty expensive. But it would be worth checking out, since it might be covered by the NHS?

 

On the air purifier front, I've been running these for a while because air pollution is terrible where I live.

If you do go down this route, basically look for the highest airflow, with a sensible trade off between noise, that you can get with a HEPA filter. In my experience* you need to run purifiers on at least a medium speed, not the low/auto settings to get particle counts down.

Ignore anything that says "HEPA type" as that's a shifty marketing way of using unrated filters. Ignore anything that uses electrostatic or UV magic filtering as they either don't work or are impractical.

If I had a house in a high pollen area (i.e. one day when I move back to my home country) I'd consider using purifiers ducting air from the outside, to create a positive clean air bubble inside the house. IQAir sells ducting kits for it's consumer purifiers.



* Running timed tests of indoor vs outdoor air, using multiple particle counters.

 

Flonase has brought my seasonal allergies to a complete standstill, it's as if I never had allergies. I hope to God you can get some.

Reactine and saline nasal rinse was my go-to before but it was only about 50% effective. Now I show zero symptoms.

 

I have two kinds, a Winix 5500-2 and a Coway AP-1512HH, and if I had to pick one for seeming more effective at cleaning the air, and it’s hard to tell, I would probably pick the latter because when it kicks on (say, from perfume or smoke) it blasts a lot of air. Though when it does this it’s loud. The Winix is quieter on auto mode. It has a turbo mode also but it isn’t used in the auto mode, you have to turn it on manually. I like the Winix for a bedroom since it’s quieter but I think the Coway moves more air on the auto turbo setting. I think it also has an additional charcoal filter whereas some of the Winix models do not.

 

My allergist calls me Mr. Allergy. And she sees hundreds of patients. One of an about the worst cases...only a handful like me in her whole career.

Do I started shot therapy a couple of years ago. I now only have to go once every other week for half and hour - they have to make sure I am not going to have a reaction. Next year I might get to move to once every three weeks. Then the year after to once a,month and then I will be done. The first year sucked though - they start out three shots a week, then after three months move to two shots per week, then to once a week. However I am so bad, my allergist had to start me on twice a week, so it too longer to get going.

So once every two weeks, two shots in one arm, one shot in the other. Hurts like a burning bee sting. Then swells up and turns red. I guess that is what Cortisone is for.

Other than that, Zytec makes me dog tired, Allegra makes me sick, and Claritin does nothing. Flonase is a miracle drug and so is Azelastine.

I wish I could tell my body to stop attacking itself.

 

Is your source perhaps tabloids? Good luck with your allergies.. I'm taking double dosages.
https://www.nhs.uk/news/medication/media-dementia-scare-over-hay-fever-and-sleep-drugs/

 

I have had significant progress in reducing my symptoms this year. I already had a Philips aircleaner for a few years which helps a lot. I also reduced my intake of grains and wheat which are part of the grass family. Being in shape also helps quite a bit, cardio like running.

This year i reduced it even more, i changed my diet to a keto one. So no more sugar and a low amount of carbs. High fat etc. The reduction in insulin resistance lowers inflammation throughout the body and combats and prevents auto immune problems.

The net result is that i basically only need a quarter of my medication. And if it hits i bounce back really quickly.

Edit:i also use a device that you put in your nose that emits infrared light. Reduces irritation and runny nose.

 

Medicines never help for me, i have tried everything.

Only one thing really helps, move to other climate area for summer.
Most bad is temperate area, i am living near north border of this area and things are not so bad here, only 3 weeks in June i need to suffer mild symptoms if i stay in the city.
But it is impossible to live for me in middle Europe or in northern states during the summer.
Different climate area = different plants = no allergy.

 

Steroid nose spray + eye drops with naphazoline do the trick for me for the most part. Long bike rides get pretty bad, but I bring along eye drops and blast snot rockets. I tried neti pot for a month or so last year and didn't really get any relief. Sometimes I would get water stuck in my sinuses because there was too much snot to break through. I don't recommend it for people with serious allergies. Oatmeal baths are great for the itchy skin and lotion with colloidal oatmeal.

 

Obviously people have different kind of passages and some can get water stuck etc, like my wife. One only knows by trying.

For me neti pot is crucial in preventing sinusitis. When it gets bad, it might take even few minutes to get through and start spewing the dark green snot out. But these days it never gets that bad, because I use it regularly regardless how my nose feels. It pays to wash the pollen/dust out.

I vote for a schlong award.