Hayfever: TIPS/HOW TO TREAT.

[M_BONG]

It's springtime.. and also exam time. Does anyone experience EXTREME hayfever like me? I am trying to study but cannot stop sneezing 24/7. And I get really tired and my awareness is reduced so I basically cannot understand anything I am studying. My eyes and nose are always itchy and I have like two boxes of tissue right next to me.

I have taken hayfever medication and nasal sprays all to no avail.

What do you guys do/not do when coping with hayfever and needing to sneeze every second minute?
 
Please share your remedies/hints here!

-

[pi]

Have you seen your GP?

I take Telfast and it seems to work.

[chasej]

Lining the inside of your nose with vaseline stops it in my experience (just don't sneeze near anyone or else risk being punched in the face).

Edit: You probably could apply for a DES if it makes you really sick on the day of an exam BTW (always a safety net).

[OutstandingInDivination]

i'd just take a day or two to recover (as in, dont do much work - light study maybe). dope up on anti-histamines (like telfast) , and steer clear of the outside weather for these few days. It's best to try getting better instead of trying to fight it

[pi]

Edit: You probably could apply for a DES if it makes you really sick on the day of an exam BTW (always a safety net).

Probably see a GP first.

[M_BONG]

Probably see a GP first.

I have; they claimed that everyone was suffering and told me to get hayfever pills and gave me prescriptions for antibiotics (although they advised me to only take them as last resort, so I didn't buy them). The hayfever pills seem to not work. Ah well, just got to endure this month I guess.

[BigAl]

Go to the beach and get some salty water through your nose...Also drink ginger tea. You should find it at Coles/safeway...India's famous tea I believe...it actually helps a lot

[Stick]

I tend to take Claratyne in the mornings when I can tell the day is going to be windy as a pre-emptive measure and it tends to work well.

If it's really bad, there's this very good anti-histamine called Phenergan - but be warned, it's very strong, and it will make you drowsy. Best to take this one before bed, but it works wonders.

[Mao]

I have; they claimed that everyone was suffering and told me to get hayfever pills and gave me prescriptions for antibiotics (although they advised me to only take them as last resort, so I didn't buy them). The hayfever pills seem to not work. Ah well, just got to endure this month I guess.

There is not just one kind of hayfever pills. All the different brands use slightly different active ingredients. Try a brand for a week. If it works, stick with it. If it doesn't work, move on to the next brand.

- Don't be afraid of drowsy. It doesn't actually make you that drowsy.
- The "suitable" brand may change from year to year.
- Take it as soon as you wake up, before your sinus flares up. Don't wait until you are sneezing your head off.

No idea what the medical/pharmacological principles are behind these observations. Maybe a med student can enlighten us. These are my wisdom from trial & error over the years.

[Russ]

The drowsy ones are the older drugs that have since been changed to not enter your brain and thus not make you drowsy. You can actually use the old ones as sleeping aids

As for the different effects, I imagine it's down to each drug having been constructed in slightly different ways. Fexofenadine/telfast only works by stopping histamine for allergies, but other drugs do that as well as other things (dopamine, adrenaline etc.).

[walkec]

Duct taping your nostrils should work 

Nah in all honesty I've tried heaps of other anti histamine tablets and I've found the only one that works for me is the Phenergen liquid. It can make you pretty drowsy, so I usually supplement Phenergen at night with a stronger day antihistamine that I get via prescription

[slothpomba]

There is not just one kind of hayfever pills. All the different brands use slightly different active ingredients. Try a brand for a week. If it works, stick with it. If it doesn't work, move on to the next brand.

- Take it as soon as you wake up, before your sinus flares up. Don't wait until you are sneezing your head off.

This is really the best advice in here. Especially that second bit, you usually want to block up the receptors with antihistamines before they have a chance to be activated.

I really dont know about putting Vaseline up your nose if that was serious. It might be harmful to your lungs if you inhale it. If its really bad and your nose is really stuffed up/runny, get some nasal spray from the pharmacy containing oxmetalazone or something similar (like this one). It will clear it right up. Problem is you cant use it for more than a few days at a time otherwise once you stop using it, your nose will be worse than ever (apparently some people get "addicted" to it because of this, they cant stand it so they keep using it).

Nah in all honesty I've tried heaps of other anti histamine tablets and I've found the only one that works for me is the Phenergen liquid.

You're half way towards having some Sizzrup!.

[sendra]

It's springtime.. and also exam time. Does anyone experience EXTREME hayfever like me? I am trying to study but cannot stop sneezing 24/7. And I get really tired and my awareness is reduced so I basically cannot understand anything I am studying. My eyes and nose are always itchy and I have like two boxes of tissue right next to me.

I have taken hayfever medication and nasal sprays all to no avail.

What do you guys do/not do when coping with hayfever and needing to sneeze every second minute?
 
Please share your remedies/hints here!

-

There are members of the family who experience bad hay fever, as severe as they cannot function anymore. they take antihistamine, they take claritin or zyrtec and nasal spray such as nasonex. Actually the medicines depends on your body's reaction, what might be good for them might not be for you. they removed the carpets in the house and they regularly clean, they use air purifier (ionmax) to filter dusts and pollen in the air too.

[T-Infinite]

I started having hayfever 5 days ago.... my first time ever, other times it was just a common cold, but this time I know it's hayfever. I took telfast and didn't really notice anything different but I still took it whenever the symptoms appear anyway. My nose got REALLY blocked, I could hardly breathe and felt like I was suffocating so I bought one of those nasal spray. With the nasal spray I only used it 2-3 times a day and NO MORE than 3 days coz apparently there will be a "rebound effect" where you get addicted and won't be able to breathe without it.

So today I noticed that most of the hayfever symptoms is gone, no more itchy eyes, no more runny nose, no more sneezing. EXCEPT for the blocked nose!!! Could someone tell me if that's normal...? maybe it will clear up in a few days, maybe I'm just over thinking it. Should I still continue to use Telfast even though most of the symptoms are gone except for the stuffy nose?...

[Yacoubb]

Celery juice.