CAA Approved medicines for hayfever

[spitfire747]

Just a quick one, i have read through here and the CAA site, but cannot find a definite list of CAA approved medicines for hayfever.

For the few weeks a year at affects me, i take Zirtec.

Does anyone know if i can still take this one.

Thanks

[Check 6]

I am not familiar with CAA approvals, but I take Flonase (fluticasone propionate) FAA approved, and no side effects. I find it very effective for the sinus problems. Does little good for itching eyes.

Possibly it is also CAA approved.

Cheers,

[Hand Solo]

Try Telfast (Fexofenadine). Very effective and approved by the CAA and my AME. I think it was at one point the only CAA approved hayfever remedy.

[AdamUK]

I use Clarityn tablets, Opticrom eydrops & Beconase spray - approved by CAA AME.

[Hand Solo]

Has Clarityn received approval recently? I used to use it but was specifically told by my AME that I could no longer take it whilst flying as it can cause drowsiness.

[skygazer]

Clarityn (or Loratidine) is supposedly non-drowsy, but when I took it, it was as good as a sleeping pill! - but fairly useless as a hay fever remedy. Dr. then prescribed me Zirtec, with Flutican nasal spray - both work very well, but I'm not sure about the position with CAA. Used to take Terfenadine, non-drowsy, worked like a dream. Then it was withdrawn from the market because of some rather unpleasant side effects (none of which I ever suffered in the many years I took it). Seems to be a case of trial and error, what works for you, etc. combined with what the CAA will approve.

[arcniz]

skygazer - the terfenadine /fexofenadine (Seldane/Allegra) story is an interesting one:

Seldane was one of the most successful and profitable drugs ever created. Its patent was to expire in 1998 - after some 15 years of commercial market use, and an army of competitors were poised to enter the business with non-proprietary versions of the same drug.

But drug company Hoescht Marion Roussel had an ace up their sleeve. In 1997 they pulled out some old test data and a few recent cases where very low-incidence problems had been reported with Seldane, then submitted a request to the FDA to cancel the license for the drug, based on the 'demonstrated' risk AND the fact that they had a freshly patented "new" drug compound - virtually identical to terfenadine but with an added oxygen atom in the molecule, which they were preparing to market - ergo fexy-Allegra.

The ever-cautious and industry-friendly FDA rolled over, Seldane was pulled, and the drug company rescued its money-printing monopoly for another 15 years.

In effect, they scuttled the ship, rather than letting the public have it.

[gingernut]

Remember the non pharmaceutical measures to stop the pollen irritating the body: drink cold water (rinses pollen from pharynx to stomach where it does no harm), rinse eyes frequently with water, wear sunglasses, vaseline around entrance to nostrils, shower before going to bed etc.

[skygazer]

arcniz-

interesting stuff!! The 'tradename' of the one I took was Triludan - but was terfenadine by any other name. When I was first prescribed them (when I ws 17), there wasn't much in the way of side effects listed on the box, but a number of years later warnings about the drug possibly giving irregular heart rhythm, etc. appeared, then when I went to renew my prescription one day I was told that the drug had been withdrawn. It was replaced by Loratidine (which is Clarityn) which I found to be completely useless at alleviating my hay fever symptoms, but extremely good at sending me to sleep. Dr. has now changed it to Zirtec, which seems OK.

Thanks for the info.

Gingernut: I've read recently that increasing the body's water intake and slightly increasing the salt intake can help with reduction of asthma symptoms also (guess what - I'm asthmatic as well!). Not sure whether it works, but I'm going to give it a go, as any way of reducing pharmaceutical intake is a good thing in my opinion - developed asthma when I was 27, which came as a great shock, and been on inhalers since then (I'm 35 now). When I think of how many hours flying my prescription charges cold have bought...................;)

[Hand Solo]

Someone who knew about these things once told me that Triludan was withdrawn because it had been shown that when taken in conjuntion with grapefruit juice it did very bad things to the heart. This had led to a small number of deaths, but as they had been directly attributable to this specific circumstance the drug had to go.

[gingernut]

Skygazer, thanks for the comment. I would be interested to hear about the water and salt treatment! Let me know if it works.