[aaron1]

hi i am suffering from hayfever for the 1st time (i am 22) it sucks man. have been staying indoors since then as the sneezing and itchy eyes are taking over.

i looked up on some treatments for nasal sprays/tablets etc. i was wondering if its possible to just block the nose to avoid getting it???
1 of the remedies was to put Vaseline on the inside of the nose to reduce pollen. but if you completely blocked it which something like the foam ear plugs would that work?? im not to worried about looking like an idiot if i know it can work then thats good enough for me.

thanks

[AmbitiousMedic]

Not too sure on the foam plugs but if you just go to your GP I'm sure they can prescribe you some eye drops and nasal spray and perhaps some form of antihistamine. They usually work great

[ugk4life]

when should one start taking medication for hay fever?

thanks.

[Exopaladin]

It'd be easier just to try antihistamines than go around blocking up your nose. Plus the itchy eyes will be due to pollen in your eyes, so unless you're going to wear ski goggles everywhere you'll probably want to look into medication. ASDA or most shops sell their own brand cetirizine/loratadine tablets (you might have to test out and see which med works best for you) for not much money. If those don't work, a GP can prescribe other antihistamines.

[Exopaladin]

(Original post by ugk4life)
when should one start taking medication for hay fever?

thanks.

Essentially you'd take it at whatever time of year you start getting symptoms. Most medications you only need to take once a day in the morning

[ugk4life]

(Original post by Exopaladin)
Essentially you'd take it at whatever time of year you start getting symptoms. Most medications you only need to take once a day in the morning

yeah usually I do do that but I'd heard that if you take medication some time before it can work as a preventative buy wasn't sure when to actually start.

thanks.

[Exopaladin]

(Original post by ugk4life)
yeah usually I do do that but I'd heard that if you take medication some time before it can work as a preventative buy wasn't sure when to actually start.

thanks.

They don't work as a preventative. You'll still need to take them every day during hayfever season. Although I guess it would be sort of preventative in that you wouldn't notice hayfever season start because you're taking them anyway, but it's sort of a waste of money

The only thing that you do as a preventative is to get allergy injection therapy, but this takes a few months and I'm not sure it's covered by the NHS (maybe in severe, medication resistant cases?).

[ugk4life]

(Original post by Exopaladin)
They don't work as a preventative. You'll still need to take them every day during hayfever season. Although I guess it would be sort of preventative in that you wouldn't notice hayfever season start because you're taking them anyway, but it's sort of a waste of money

The only thing that you do as a preventative is to get allergy injection therapy, but this takes a few months and I'm not sure it's covered by the NHS (maybe in severe, medication resistant cases?).

not too keen on the injection lol.

but yeah I start taking them in a few days I can sorta feel it coming on.

thanks.

[TominEurope]

(Original post by aaron1)
hi i am suffering from hayfever for the 1st time (i am 22) it sucks man. have been staying indoors since then as the sneezing and itchy eyes are taking over.

1 of the remedies was to put Vaseline on the inside of the nose to reduce pollen. but if you completely blocked it which something like the foam ear plugs would that work?? im not to worried about looking like an idiot if i know it can work then thats good enough for me.

You can count yourself lucky that you have escaped it for 21 years! I've had it every year for the past 12.

As for Vaseline, I use it in conjunction with antihistamines, especially if I'm going to be out in the open - running for example. I put lots in both nostrils but can still breath (most of the time anyway) and wear wrap around sun glasses. You'll find you have to apply more quite frequently.

[Chobadangi]

My kids use Haymax instead of vaseline. it's not slimy and they reckon it works better. You could stick foam up your nose - i once saw someone selling foam plugs for hayfever. Don't know if you can buy then but i guess a bit of sponge would do just as well. Not very comfortable though. Stopping the pollen getting into your nose could stop the eyes itching as well. The itchy eyes are a result of the reaction to the pollen, and shades are a must for itchy eyes. If anti histamines work for you, then that's great, (steroid nasal sprays also work well) but try and find something else during exam times. Histamines in the brain keep you alert, attentive and awake. so no surprise that some people feel a bit drowsy when they take them.
If you want to stay drug-free during exams etc., try Haymax or Qu-Chi bands (which work with acupressure).
hope that helps.

[aaron1]

(Original post by Chobadangi)
My kids use Haymax instead of vaseline. it's not slimy and they reckon it works better. You could stick foam up your nose - i once saw someone selling foam plugs for hayfever. Don't know if you can buy then but i guess a bit of sponge would do just as well. Not very comfortable though. Stopping the pollen getting into your nose could stop the eyes itching as well. The itchy eyes are a result of the reaction to the pollen, and shades are a must for itchy eyes. If anti histamines work for you, then that's great, (steroid nasal sprays also work well) but try and find something else during exam times. Histamines in the brain keep you alert, attentive and awake. so no surprise that some people feel a bit drowsy when they take them.
If you want to stay drug-free during exams etc., try Haymax or Qu-Chi bands (which work with acupressure).
hope that helps.

i would want to avoid any drugs etc prefer to use natural stuff so will look at the Qu-Chi bands :-) thanks.
its strange to think something simple like pollen can cause so many problems for people.

[Slosh]

I don't know where else sells it but Lloyds (I think) do some gadget which essentially cures hay fever for a day: it's two prongs and a battery, stick prongs up nose, they illuminate red for 2 minutes, science happens and no hay fever symptoms for 24 hours. Not entirely sure how it works but hiiiiighly recommendable!

[WanaBdoctor]

Lol you're very lucky, I'm 18 and I've always had it! Most of my symptoms are to do with asthma (in the process of being diagnosed with asthma) but I do have sneezing fits itchy eyes and eczema. Ceretizine works well and Tesco see it for less than £1!

Hate to tell you this but this year is a good year! I haven't been taking anything because all the over the counter stuff makes me drowsy and I have loads of morning exams, and I've still managed to stay awake all day! ( it affects me worse at night!)

Good luck just give stuff time to kick in, stay indoors and was your hands when you get home.

Hope you feel better

[Life=Music]

It really can be such a pain sometimes, I've had it for about the past 4 years. I went to the doctors and I've got loratadine tablets, a nasal spray and eye drops which I take every day.

I always start taking all my medication a few weeks to a month before the hayfever season kicks in, just so it's already in my system which means it doesn't start off as bad as it used to.
Also, when i'm feeling particularly bad I often put some olbas oil on a tissue next to my pillow when I go to sleep, I generally find that it helps me breath a bit better and I don't feel quite so stuffed up on a morning.

[elia]

Nasal spray works quite well for me.