Does anybody here get hayfever?

[Joseph41]

I don't think I've ever had it, but the last few days, I've had the whole itchy eyes/sneezing/lethargic sort of deal. Definitely doesn't feel like a regular cold.

For those who get it regularly, what are the major symptoms? And how do you deal?

[K888]

Itchy eyes, sneezing, lethargy, itchy nose, runny nose, headaches, a barrel of fun. I think the biggest thing I get is red, watery eyes and blurry vision.

How I deal? Always carry a packet of tissues around, and anti-histamines (but make sure they're the ones that don't make you drowsy!). I think you can also get nasal spray and stuff? Haven't tried it, personally. Have also heard that trying to breathe really deeply can help.
Since I've been on prescription anti-inflammatories for other stuff, I've found my hayfever isn't so bad either, which is a bonus haha.

My sister in law suggested eating locally produced honey! So like, go buy the stuff straight from the beekeepers or local greengrocers - don't buy the stuff from the supermarket

Honestly, it's just a matter of waiting for it to subside haha. You learn to live with it.

[howey]

Yep, I get it, and being a cricket player, it sucks. Runny eyes, runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing... it's shocking when you can't get away from the grass.

[Joseph41]

@Kate, have you tried the honey thing?

@howey, yeah, cricket would be terrible. You have my sympathies man. I tried keeping over a full weekend with a pretty blood bad cold once, and that was well and truly enough for me haha.

[zofromuxo]

Hmm, haven't had it for the last two years.. so maybe i'm cured .

But from recent memory, the major symptoms were best described by @k888 and the way I treat it having a packet of Telfast, Eye drops, Boxes upon boxes of tissues (I need to blow my clogged nose a lot) and the occasional use of a nasal spray.

I also sometimes get itchy legs.. i haven't figured out why though.

[vox nihili]

bestpractice.bmj.com/best-practice/monograph/232.html

[K888]

@Kate, have you tried the honey thing?

To be honest, not a big consumer of honey, so not really.
I guess the rationale behind it is that local honey is really natural, and has health benefits - think I've read that it's good for your immune system? Like, I know that honey is antibacterial, and it's been used for medicinal purposes across history. @vox - please correct me if I'm wrong
Plus maybe like, exposing yourself to the local pollen will lessen the severity of your hayfever (I'm unsure whether the pollen you'd be getting in the honey would be the same as the pollen causing your hayfever, though). But yeah, not sure as to whether there's actually evidence about it working specifically for hayfever.

My mum would always use honey from the local beekeepers in her cooking when I lived at home, and my hayfever wasn't too bad - it's been worse since moving out, but I really think that's more to do with me being in a new area with new allergens, rather than not consuming honey haha.

Some people swear by it, so maybe there's a method behind it, even if it is placebo

[vox nihili]

To be honest, not a big consumer of honey, so not really.
I guess the rationale behind it is that local honey is really natural, and has health benefits - think I've read that it's good for your immune system? Like, I know that honey is antibacterial, and it's been used for medicinal purposes across history. @vox - please correct me if I'm wrong
Plus maybe like, exposing yourself to the local pollen will lessen the severity of your hayfever (I'm unsure whether the pollen you'd be getting in the honey would be the same as the pollen causing your hayfever, though). But yeah, not sure as to whether there's actually evidence about it working specifically for hayfever.

My mum would always use honey from the local beekeepers in her cooking when I lived at home, and my hayfever wasn't too bad - it's been worse since moving out, but I really think that's more to do with me being in a new area with new allergens, rather than not consuming honey haha.

Some people swear by it, so maybe there's a method behind it, even if it is placebo

I can't say that I know a lot about the medicinal properties of honey, but given some of the fairly fanciful claims about it made in the media it would be reasonable to be a little bit sceptical. As far as I know, there isn't any strong evidence that honey is useful for much other than providing sustenance.

It's an interesting idea around the pollens, but likely not the case. The pollens that cause hayfever sufferers most trouble are those from grasses, especially rye grass. As far as I'm aware, bees don't collect these pollens.

There are certainly therapies that see people gradually exposed to increasing doses of something that triggers allergies, and these have been used in hayfever with a fairly high rate of success (the exposure is via a tablet with grass pollens that you stick under your tongue), but by and large these treatments are rare and access is poor.

As the BMJ article says, intranasal steroids work well. As do antihistamines. Staying inside and avoiding the world is also a personal favourite :p

[rocksonchan]

Yep and it ruins one whole quarter of the year 

[Phoenix11]

Yep, I have hay fever.
The symptoms I have when it goes out of control is sneezing(a lot), runny nose, itchy eyes(I guess) and I also cough sometimes, probably because of the pollen disrupting my throat.
To keep all this in check, I've been having Nasonex which works wonders when yo spray it 2 times in each nostril every night. Keep doing this and you won't get irritated by the hay fever.
 

[cloudyy]

What does it feel like to have hayfever? I don't have it so idk and im just wondering... aha

[elysepopplewell]

Have I had hayfever? HAVE I??

I've been going to the doctor consistently since March 2015 because when I get hayfever, it's baaaad, and then when it's gone, I get one odd symptom at a time. One day I just shone a torch up my nostrils to see that the airflow passage in each nostril is not more than 2mm at any time - there's there's huge polyp looking things in there! Turns out they're enlarged turbinates. Many nasal sprays, CT scans, and appointments later. Finally, my doctor has referred me to a specialist. I'll go next Wednesday, pay $220 for a 15 minute appointment, and fingers crossed the recommendation is a quick day surgery to release the pressure in my sinuses and hayfever can kiss my bum

As for symptoms, usually itchy, red, and watery eyes, a "fizzy' nose lol, sneezing lots, a nasally voice, and my ears usually get a weird kind of blocked (it kind of sounds really windy in your ears lol)

[gemmaruffin]

Yup! And it's a pain too
Mine is pretty mild, but it loves to last all year long - so think blocked/itchy nose, itchy throat, watery eyes all the time haha. Not that fun, but with nasal spray and tissues, it's pretty manageable.

[Aaron]

I take pharmacy grade nasal spray. The tablets (e.g. Zyrtec, Claratyne) don't work for me. Have had it pretty much all my life.

I start taking it about a month before spring (so around the start of August) to slowly ease back into it. Honestly, hayfever could result in anything for me.

It is an absolute bastard. Anything from the runny nose to the blocked nasal passages/sinuses to itchy eyes and fluid in my ears. Without the spray, I cannot fully function when the lovely trees are blossoming

P.S - At work there is a massive tree that has blossomed and all of those yellow things are all over the ground. Yup.. I can't go near it.