Any remedies for hay fever?

Loritadine doesn't work for me. I've started taking cetrizine which works, but makes me really sleepy.

Which symptoms do you find the worst to cope with? I've got very bad hayfever (I've actually had anaphylaxis off grass pollen which is very rare indeed, plus I've been sneezing so much and so violently recently that every time I do I now get heavy nosebleeds and a really sore throat).

I also understand your reluctance to use anti-histamines. Whilst they have few serious side effects, I am also in the same boat in that I try to minimise medicine usage until I actually *really* need it. Overuse of histamines can also lead to desensitization so then you'll have nothing effective for when you really need it.

Personally I only use anti-histamines when it's a) really bad, or b) there's any swelling (e.g. face or whatever starting to swell).

As for homeopathic or other medicinal routes, I would strongly advise against them. Most of them are useless, and in the worst case, downright dangerous.

So which symptoms do you find the most annoying? Personally, I can cope with nasal problems, but the one I find unbearable is itchy eyes. The best thing of course is to stop rubbing them - it really does help if you can resist for ~5 minutes, but failing that, try saline eye drops. Just pure saline (water) - no active ingredient. The idea is that it washes the pollen out of the eye. It's not perfect, there's still the tiniest itch left, but it's an absolute blessed relief. For eyes, saline eye drops

Richard

Desensitization is something I worried about, too, but I couldn't find any literature suggesting that people really get desensitized to anti-histamines. I have been taking cetirizine everyday for years now, and it still seems to be just as effective at the same dose.

... it does get @#$@#%ing expensive, though.