Hayfever.........HELP

[Jerricho]

Hey all,

It's that time of year again in Sunny Blighty. Could anybody please suggest their cures for hayfever that won't impair ability to work. I have tried everything from Clarytin, Beconaise Nasal Spray to Butterburr. Nothing works. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Point Seven]

Jerricho

Zirtek works for my missus.

P7

[Travelling Toolbox]

I feel for you.

I have sufferred for years and have tried them all.


I have found when living in climates with four distinct seasons that the following drugs help me immensely:

Telfast

Non-drowsy anti-histamine - I take the high dose once/24 hr tablet as I find the 12 hour not quite up to the task of round the clock relief. No side effects at all.

Albalon A Eyedrops

Itchy eyes - these are particularly good as they have three ways of helping.
1) decongestant
2) anti-histamine
3) lubricant

I have found these drops a godsend as they have an immediate anaesthetic quality providing instant relief from that "sand in your eyes" feeling.

Longer term, they leave a film on the eyeball protecting it from irritants like airborne pollens. This film can last as long as four hours (if you don't succumb and rub your eyes) before needing to apply more.

Not sure if they have any undesirable side-effects of note for an aviator. I am pretty sure they are safe, but you might have to ask your doctor just to be sure.

Hope this helps :D

[phnuff]

I feel for you - one of the great things about getting a bit older is that these things subside, although not completley. I now find Clartyn (or the Boots branded version), work about the best although not completely. My CAA doctor did tell me that Claratyn & grapefruit Juice do not mix well (some side effect, I can't remember what but he did send me a write up from a medical journal which I have filed somewhere).

This year has been particularly bad - my wife in eal dsitress from it for most of the last 4 weeks.

One thing, I always found that when I got near an aircraft, the symptoms just evaporated (adrenalin??)

[Hwel]

Not much use for this year but if you can get local honey, like from a farm shop or similar, eat that in the run up to next summer, it helps build resistance ( strange but true) apart from that a combo of zirtek and beconase nose spray, along with saline eye drops for really bad days. I find that alcohol makes it worse, can be fine couple of pints nose is streamming.

[yeboin]

Jerricho,

I use Flixonase Nasal Spray and it works very well, had no problems at all since I started using it and it does everything - eyes, nose, sinus, the lot. Also I had a medical just last week and the AME told me the best antihistamines' to take are Fexofenadine and Neo-Clarityn as they are non-drowsy. Although the other guys are correct that Zirtek works well, and I have used it, the Doc said that it isn't great for flying because of the drowsy side effect, though I have never noticed any drowsiness when I have used it.

Phnuff, know what you mean, I was having a bad day earlier in the "summer" , got to the airport and the sneezing vanished, driving home later and sneezing away again. So I guess the best antihistamines Jerricho, are aircraft! (Clarityn a lot cheaper obviously).

Eoin

[Barnaby the Bear]

I agree with the local honey option. Gales honey won't do. Find a little farm or Bee keeper.
Other than that, prey for rain.:}

[ozplane]

I first started getting hay fever at the age of 13 with my father's words that it will be gone by the time you're 40. Wrong! Here I am 50 years later and still sneezing, runny nose and all. However we had a holiday in New Zealand in March this year and my wife, who never got hay-fever till we were married and now thinks it's a sexually transmitted disease. was pole-axed by it. A local pharmacy recommended Flixonase and bingo it was gone. I've tried it this year and it works for me to with no apparent side-effects (i.e. my nose hasn't dropped off yet). By the way my GP reckons 1 sneeze equates to 1/8 of an orgasm. No wonder I'm knackered by the end of August!

[Jerricho]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!!!

[lizardlikeme]

I'll second P7 - Zirtek works really well - no drowsiness at all.

[expedite_climb]

I take a prescription drug - street name is NeoClarityn, (docs name i think is desloratadin or something).

Not related to clarityn, but it is one a day, and one prescription will last you all summer (cheap!):D

Works a treat when benadryl - clarityn etc didnt, and a few docs tell me it is the only one the CAA approve. (It is actually used by NASA astronauts), as others which claim to be non-drowsy arent always (fruit juice ??)

[spork]

Lots of medication info here - some of which I've used, and some not. My current one is Neoclarityn 5mg which seems as good as any previous ones, however for me, none of them provides an actual "cure" for hayfever. I get hayfever very early from tree pollen, so a dry and windy spring is hell for me.

Some non-medication suggestions: 1) Don't use eyedrops. Interfering with the eye's natural defences makes matters far worse for me. 2) Don't rub eyes - easily said ha ha. 3) Try to avoid a drop in body temperature. For me this induces sneezing which brings on the histamine reaction very strongly. 4) A bit unpleasant - smear vaseline up your nostrils. This improves the natural "trapping" of dust and pollen. Two tips: look in the mirror after doing this :yuk: and also have your hanky ready if a sneeze is coming as vaseline will vastly assist the passage of anything "en route". :yuk: 5) Find out if a pollen filter is available for your car, and of course don't drive with the windows open. 6) If suffering badly, I find that breathing a mist of water helps, so stand in a warm shower (if poss) or breathe in steam from a sink or even just a cup of hot water.

Hope this helps - but judging by the posts so far, different things work for different people.

[skygazer]

Used to take Loratidine, which did a superb job of knocking me out!! Now use Flixonase nasal spray if things are really bad, but have got good results taking Luffa Complex, 20 drops in a bit of water, taken every day. Available online and from health food shops - works for me.

[Kestrel_909]

One simple way to stop you from scratching your eyes is wear sunglasses. Well, if you are a pilot you probably do this anyway but I find it doesn't only get in the way when trying to itch my eyes, but if you get a decent pair it keeps your eyes cooler, if you follow me and reduces the irritation of it all.:cool:
Works for me!

[Hawk]

Apple Cider vinegar...sniff it, wash your eyes in it (dilluted) and sip it. Um..not in that order.

[Polly Gnome]

A few weeks ago I saw a leaflet in the doctor's surgery about a 'nose filter' which trapped pollen, pet hairs, dust, etc.

They're plastic and fit just inside your nostrils. They look a bit odd, but you have to look closely to see them.

I wear them at night and when I'm at home. They take a bit of getting used to - like contact lenses.

I've used Beconase when my allergy has got bad, but these filters have really helped - my nose and sinus are much clearer.

They have been tested by the University of Plymouth.

I'm not sure if I can post the name - is it advertising? - but if you're interested you could do a search on the internet.

Has anyone else used them for longer then the few weeks that I have? Have you found them useful long term?

[Evanelpus]

I take the same stuff as Expedite_Climb.

My hay fever has improved as I have got older, these tablets certainly work for me but I know others who use tablets that knock me for six.

I also shove Beconaise up my bugle three times a day. Just to let you know that I get my Beconaise from the local Co-Op, it's 90p cheaper than prescription!!

[phnuff]

Hayfever has improved with age and now is not a major problem. When it does still strike, I find Claratin (or the boots own brand=same stuff=much less dosh), works well.

Interestingly enough, I mentioned this at my last medical and the doctor advised against taking Claratin if you drink Grapefruit Juice - some side effect he could not quite recall. Lo and behold a week later, a photocopy of an artical from the Lancett appears in the post warning about occasional heart issues from the combination.

So, who ever said fruit was good for you

[sir_jonty]

Hey all im new to here and still a student and want to become a airline pilot after uni.

I was just wondering that if having hayfever means you cannot become a professional pilot?

This would be of great help as i would hate the spend money on a a class 1 medical only to find hayfever means i fail

many thanks

Jonty

[TheStormyPetrel]

Hi Jerricho

I also suffer from hayfever, though not every year. This year has been awful!!!

My first hint. Take whatever hayfever tablet before arising. When you first wake, the nose is not running, however as soon as you start to move, the whole hayfever reaction gets into action. So take tablet, lie there for 1/2 hour (go back to sleep if you can). That gives me the best chance of a symptom free day.

If your symptoms start at some other time (like out for a walk on a day when you'd had no problems up until then) take it asap and if you can lie down until it works (when you get home!!) then do, I think that gives a better chance of it working.

Like Spork, I also find that showering provides some relief.

Air conditioning, not too cold, is great, as it keeps the spores out to an extent.

I use Claratyne. It does not make me drowsy, and provides reasonable relief most days. Some days I also take a 2 cold and flu tablets (non drowsy) to make the symptoms go away until the Claratyne has time to work, especially if I can't lie down to stop symptoms, as the Claratyne seems to need help to stop vigorous symptoms.

This has been fascinating reading, as the varied experiences and suggestions are interesting and we can always learn new tricks.

[Paul Wilson]

If you need your vision corrected try swapping to contact lenses, doesn't cure the hayfever, but you don't get the itchy eyes. which is what drives me mad.

[redsnail]

I rarely get heyfever these days but when I was a teenager/young adult I was tormented by allergies practically all year round.
I saw my Doc and he sent me to an allergy specialist. He did a scratch test on my arms and then made up a solution of the things that I was allergic to. Over the next 2 years I was injected with this stuff. It used to itch like mad. Around the 2 year mark I noticed I wasn't sneezing nearly as much.
These days I might get 1 or 2 days worth of hayfever, esp if I mow the lawn without a filter mask.
It was well worth the cost of getting the jabs.