Are you sure it is just hayfever as in grass pollen and not just a slight allergy to other irritants such as petroleum prodcts rubber, nickel (coins etc)? It may be worth trying to tie this down by illimination / testing.
I have always suffered very mild hay fever type symptoms which I am sure are triggered by such known common irritants (touching nose after handling coins etc). These slight iritations tend to be exaggerated in summer due to bright light etc, but of course the other potential trigger may be pollen. I have had tests done by a Medical Doctor with holistic tendencies and he has identified a small number of items which trigger a short term allergic response but more importanty, he has also identified other food product allergens which if avoided, have the effect of reducing the long term drain on the immune system. Through simple changes in diet and through a simple inexpensive plan of supplements (manily fish oils), I have found myself totaly free of any kind of hay fever type symptoms. Nail strength, skin and eyesight also improved too.
Incidentally, one of the items that I found I was allergic to (through blood tests) was a particular type of late flowering tree pollen.
It is probably the case that as with many people, poor modern diet, unnatural processed food, polutants etc have helped to compromise your immune system slightly. There are many clinics offering allergy testing, but the important thing is that you find a competent practitioner who can actally put together a supplement plan. Much of this kind of aproach to medicine developed in Eastern Europe, where they simply didn't have the money to buy drugs from the large pharma companies. Instead of treating symptoms when they appear with a magic bullet as we have tended to do in the west, they concentrated more on extensive testing (blood saliva stool) and trying to tack down dietry (mineral) defficiencies in order to allow the immune system to operate more effectively. This was developed in a big way during the soviet space race era too as they had to find ways to keep people fit and healthy for months at a time in space.
I have always discussed my minor allergies with my AME and he is quite happy. Other than in PPL days sitting in dusty grass airfields in the middle of summer, I don't feel that it has affected my flying (military and commercial) at all and if anything, working in a clean air pressurised environment helps. (However, see threads on or Google - AOPIS for debates on the "airborne clean air" environment).
I am not sure how military medics are these days, but if it is only minor then as the previous poster says, just be honest. I am sure they know fine that most people are allergic to something. If you really feel that you cannot operate without antihistamines, then maybe it will be a problem (and in my opinion, for your own sake, maybe you should look for underlying causes).
Last edited by Kirkwall; 4th Sep 2005 at 22:21.