Anyone got any good Hayfever remedies?

[MartiniDave]

With the pollen starting to tickle the old nostrils I was wondering if any of you have any good, reliable haay fever remedies that I might try?

Cheers,

Dave

[larry the spark]

I've tried most and Zirtek work best for me from the commercially available ones. Triludan used to do the job but were taken off the market cos they caused liver or kidney damage when you drank pineapple juice with them or something bizarre like that. I necked loads of them over the years too.:shock:

There is a natural remedy out called New Era H available from boots etc. if you want to try something homeopathic but I don't know if they are any good.

[Adi007]

I find that Zirtek puts me to sleep and I prefer Clarityn and a nasal spray (Beconase or the Tesco clone which is far cheaper and you get more). I have to say that I don't use them often though ... maybe once of twice a year.

[MartiniDave]

Thanks Guys.

I'm hoping that spending more time in amongst the trees I can build up some immunity. I think the Tesco clarityn clone will find its way into my pack.

Dave

[Kath]

An old natural remedy I've heard of, but never tried, is to take a spoonful of local honey every day. It has to be local to you though which is why I've never tried it as I don't know any beekeepers near me. Apparently it's something to do with having the right mixture of pollen to match where you are.

Don't know if it works, but it might be worth a try...

[sam]

I have a book of herbal remedies that suggest cayenne pepper! i'm not sure how your supposed to apply it,(it's in dutch, and the translation is proving elusive!)

it's supposed to reduce the sensitivity of the sinusses :-?

as soon as i find out what your suppsed to do with it, i'll let you know

[larry the spark]

Made a mistake............I've taken that many different brands I thought zirtek was the one I take but its not. Telfast (containing fexofenadine) is the brand name and I get it on prescription. Pretty large tablets compared to other brands but work great!

[the naughty boy]

lol where do they get these names from..poor nadine ..fex ofe? you didnt get it from the telfast belegraph did you ? lol you can tell i have little to do cant you.

friend of mine told me that understanding hayfever was half the battle and that it was all down to an intollerance to tiny particles,i know its obvious but sometimes when you as-is something it loses its fear factor.thats why doctors rarely get ill even in contagious illness wards.strange but true.

dosent get rid of your hayfever though does it lol..sorry :-D

[Doc]

Mainstay of treatment is still antihistamines. I used to use and prescribe Loratidine (trade name Clarityn) but recently have tended to use Cetirizine (Zirtek). Boith of these are supposed to be non-sedating, as is Telfast.

Terfenadine was withdrawn a few years ago on safety grounds.

Sedating antihistamines such as chlorpheniramine (Piriton) work just as well but tend to zonk you out (excuse the technical medical terminology).

Steroid nasal sprays (like beclomethasone and mometasone) also work well but need to be used regularly and take several days to kick in.

I still get patients requesting long acting steroid injections. This was in vogue a few years ago but we would generally regard the risks to outweigh the benefits. I do occassionally give a short course of oral steroids to patients with severe hay fever taking exams, etc.

[Kath]

Mainstay of treatment is still antihistamines. I used to use and prescribe Loratidine (trade name Clarityn) but recently have tended to use Cetirizine (Zirtek). Boith of these are supposed to be non-sedating, as is Telfast.

I think the leaflet in Zirtek says it can be sedating in certain people ... for me I'm useless for days if i take it, so was advised not to. It was really effective stuff though!!

So I stick with the beconase or its Tesco clone, which I've taken year-round (for sinus trouble) for about ten years now, so the pollen never gets the chance to get me. :-D But if were to stop ...

Hope something works for you Dave!

[alick]

I suggest trying the different compounds and finding out which work for you. I've tried several over the years and found some that work for other people don't work for me and VV.

When you get really worn out with it, you may be prepared to accept the sedative side effects - in which case I find that piriton is still the most potent.

Another oldie that works but has a soporific side effect is actifed syrup - yellow (normal) or red (spiked with codeine and somewhat more effective). I used these regularly for over ten summers while I was growing up.

All the best

[MartiniDave]

Thanks for all of the above. I've been "in harms way" all weekend without so much as a sniffle, so maybe exposure and determination help. I've tried the honey thing last year and do believe it works, mind you I love honey anyway. On that note perhaps single malt would work too? Here's hoping!

Dave - without an itch nose so far!! :-D

[Justin Time]

Hmm, don't tempt fate there Dave, tree pollen doesn't bother me, but once the grass pollen starts in amonth or so's time...... Beconase is what I need, Although a visit to the coast with a nice sea breeze helps a lot too

[EdS]

The honey one works - thats part of the reason I started keeping bees.

you need to start taking a tea spoon or so a day form early March on ward to build up the resistance before things flower.

[Andrew Middleton]

Problem with the honey method is it doesn't allow you to build up resistance to grass pollen, which is a bugger around August/Sept time.

I've always used piriton because I'm a cheapskate and you get three times as many for the less than the non-drowsy ones. You can build up resistance to the sleep-inducing effects. However, I will remain faithful to it since an incident involving a friend: We were walking in the Lakes and he unwittingly ate a shop-prepared sandwich containing a blue cheese. His allergic reaction almost killed him and left him totally incapacitated (blew up like the Michelin Man). Two hours after popping the piriton (on medical advice) he was able to continue and get off the mountain. I will always carry piriton in my first aid kit, as it's not just a cure for hayfever.

[Ed]

I will always carry piriton in my first aid kit, as it's not just a cure for hayfever.

Yes... I've also used it to treat a friend who suffered a nasty peanut reaction while we where in Jaisalmir (don't get ill in jaisalmir as there are no hospitals and good doctors are non existant). I've also used the sedative effect to get a good nights sleep...... sleeping on a stone house roof in an abandoned village full of stray dogs that barked 24 hours a day!!!!!

:-)
Ed

[jakunen]

Could have done with reading this thread last week!
Went down to the New Forest with Womble for the weekend. When we struck camp yesterday my tent had a lovely golden sheen on it.
I've not suffered for about 20-25 damn years!
Now I've got ALL the symptoms... :cry:

[Nod]

I use Haymine now. All the others stop working or sent me to sleep. One a day and they are not as expensive as some of the others.

The honey thing that Kath mentioned is supposed to work too......so I've been necking some local stuff as well.

One year I convinced myself that I could "immune" myself by not taking anything at all..............packed up after a week as the tissues for my nose were costing more than the tablets.

:-D

[stevec]

i go along with kath and EdS, the locally produced honey is a good method. the place to try and buy it is a local organic greengrocers or a farm shop.

[tree_hugger]

i heard eating stuff like onoins and leaks is supposed to reduce the affects of hayfever. i tried it and it works quite well.

[jakunen]

I eat them all the time, including this weekend. Didn't make any difference... :-(

[Tantalus]

i suffer from many allergies
the doc asked what i am allergic to and i said simple answer , everything
after starting the allergy test he came jaunting back in saying "hows the guy with a million allergies then "
his only comment when he looked at my arms was "oh"

anyway a couple of pointers fom me
honey helps
i take loratadine on prescription most of the summer
Strong peppermints (wild leaves or polos , doesnt matter) will alleviate a sneezing attack

also bug bites, one or 2 and i seem to cope but if i get 6 or more they start puffing up badly
and then i start sneezing at other pollens as well

keeping bugbites to a minimum is important so i use "skin so soft" from avon
eat garlic ( which i love anyway) and vitamin b tablets to keep the little blighters at a distance

ok so i may be extreme but these are the things i find help and if i am sensible i can still do most things outdoors even cutting grass and making hay

point is for me not to overload myself with too many allergies at the one time

for the record i am allergic to furry animals, grass pollen, tree pollens bug bites and house mites

regular small level contact is also desensitising, after living in a house with cats and dogs i seem to tolerate them better

hope this helps
try the peppermint one for a quick fix in a pinch

Tant

[tomtom]

there are a number of different homeopathic remidies for hay-fever, you need to get the right one for your symptoms, some work better than other, when i get hayfever i only really get dtreaming eyes which ithch, the remidie for this is "euphrasia" the 30c type, and that works wonders for me. Whit homeopahic medicens you need to find the right one, not only for the ailment, but also for you so things offen dont work, but hay its worth a try, and if you dont believe in all that rubbish its just sugar and water right......? so no harm done!

[bigjackbrass]

Possibly controverisal these days, but many people swear by snuff to combat hayfever and similar allergies. Indeed, many snuffs (especially the medicated and menthol varieties) were originally devised for just that purpose. If you have any worries about drowsiness than it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll avoid that with snuff, because having a pinch of tobacco up your nose gives you a massive nicotine kick. A racing heart and being awake all night are far more likely.

And a killer nicotine addiction is the other downside.

[Mikey P]

I've taken loratidine as an anti-histamine in the past but, more recently, Neoclarityn under prescription for a skin problem (eeuurrgghh!). This seems quite good - it doesn't mak you drowsy, it's extremely difficult to overdose, small easy-to-swallow pills. It's supposed to work for hayfever, etc.

Would be interested to know if medics out there have prescribed Neoclarityn - Doc?

[Doc]

We're encouraged not to prescribe Neoclarityn (desloratadine).

Clarityn (loratadine) recently came off patent, meaning that any company can make it (and the price to the NHS goes down). The original makers responded to this by aggressively marketing a new slightly different version, desloratadine (Neoclarityn) which is subject to patent protection.

My view is that it is more of a marketing strategy than anything else.

[Adi007]

Funny how new wonderdrugs come out as soon as the old one is off prescription! :roll:

We're encouraged not to prescribe Neoclarityn (desloratadine).

Clarityn (loratadine) recently came off patent, meaning that any company can make it (and the price to the NHS goes down). The original makers responded to this by aggressively marketing a new slightly different version, desloratadine (Neoclarityn) which is subject to patent protection.

My view is that it is more of a marketing strategy than anything else.

[tree_hugger]

Also to reduce the affects of hayfever try putting 1/4 lemon peel in a cup of hot water and drinking it. i tried it and i think it worked but it might of been in the mind.
mellllllloooooooooooooooooooo

[MartiniDave]

Cautious update -

I've been recomended some stuff called Luff Complex, but so far this year I've not really been troubled by hayfever (probably will be tomorrow now :-? ). I have been spending more time outdoors than other years, in a deliberate attempt to "harden" myself to the effects of pollen.

Dave

P.S. - thanks to everone who offered suggestions.