Aaargh THE ITCHING EYES!!! Anyone else got hayfever?

[MortyFide]

I posted about this recently because I suspected my new puppy of giving me allergy symptoms, but OMFG the itching burning eyes!! They're driving me mental.

I have no idea if it's the puppy or tree pollen or what, as I've never had any allergy like this in my life - I'm 47, I've never suffered with hayfever and I had a dog previously for 12 years with no problems. It started out as one slightly itchy eye, a constantly runny nose, itching in my mouth, and dry itchy skin on my face and belly (actually a slightly bumpy rash). Now I have all of that, but I just want to claw both eyes out with the itching. It won't stop!

I have antihistamines but they are in a distant cupboard, and if I move now I'm going to wake the puppy down beside me - the little fucker has only just gone off to sleep after what seems like hours of overtired biteyness. While I summon up the energy to face disturbing the sabre-toothed knobhead, if it's tree pollen why is it bothering me most indoors, at night, with the windows closed? Is that a thing? I know nothing about hayfever.

For a while I used a spray called Avamys , prescription only. It was magic but gave me nosebleeds do the GP took it off of me

Delivery arrived - I tried the Optrex Acti-mist, ooh it stung the sore skin around my eyes for a minute or so, but after that...bliss! Very soothing, and the itching definitely gone for now.

Haven't tried the Becodefence nasal spray yet, only because I feel it would be wise to blow my nose first - but I currently have a puppy spatchcocked out on my lap, and no tissue to hand.

Oh fucking hell, the antihistamine has worn off and now nothing is working at all. I want to tear my eyes put and claw at my throat. I've never had this until this week, how do you people live with it!!!!

My eyes are a nightmare at the moment. Took my daily tablet 2 hours ago and haven’t been out but they are just stinging and streaming hot tears. Wanted to put some makeup on to cheer myself up but no point. I’m just hoping that as the tree pollen started quite early, it will finish early- by end of April. In normal times I’d nip to Boots for some drops but don’t want to make trips if I really don’t have to. How are you all doing?

@Oldraver "I've noticed itchy eyes recently. I've been taking anti--histamine all winter for other itching but have just cut down as I can't get Loratadine anywhere"

This place has it in stock. www.theindependentpharmacy.co.uk/hay-fever/loratadine-tablets-10mg

I buy my own anti hist (cetirizine) in bulk as I am allergic to loads of things looks pointedly at cats

But when pollen gets very bad, I also use Pollenase spray

My hay fever started a couple of years ago (I'm 45). I can't take antihistamines though due to epilepsy. My doctor prescribed me an inhaler on Monday as it's my chest which mainly gets irritated and that has helped a bit. I also use hay fever relief eye drops, saline nasal spray, and steam inhalations. Couldn't sleep last night because of the tickly throat. I really want to sit in the garden but I can't 😖

I've started this year with hay fever for the first time in my life. I have had itchy water eyes and my nose runs like a tap when I walking to work and I cough when I'm outside! I'm fine inside the house apart from the itchy eyes. Took an antihistamine on Sunday and daily since and the symptoms are much improved. I haven't coughed when I'm outside at all. It was a shock as I'm in my 40's too.

Ugh its terrible today, been advised I can take 3 certirizine a day but so far one dose hasn't done much! My left eye is itching and oozing constantly. Weird isn't it thesedays, never had it in my life before now!

Hopefully, if you get it now you’re allergic to tree pollen which will not last through the summer.My DM used to suffer May, June, July and into August. Luckily I have usually seen the end of my problem by summer/May. I’ve been on my food shop and stocked up on Cetirizine. It’s very cheap in Aldi.

I’d get some more advice Morty, your eye shouldn’t be oozing. I prefer to go to the eye experts first, but of course you can consult a pharmacist, as the NHS site advises. They’ll tell you what you need, and what to do if treatment doesn’t help.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/conjunctivitis/

To be fair Light, I have spoken to a nurse at the surgery and she told me I could take 3 certirizine a day - just not loratadine.

I have been taking 3, but it only takes the edge off - if I go outside it just flares up again, and I think my eye is oozing and watery because I can't stop scratching. It's a bit miserable, going outside makes my whole face, head and the inside of my mouth itch, but the weather is so lovely and we're so lucky to have a little garden.

Apparently the doctor can prescribe better stuff if OTC antihistamines don't work very well - but how long should I keep trying for, is the effect cumulative? Not sure I can cope with this for another 6 weeks, assuming it's tree pollen and not the dog. Oh yes I know some people suffer far worse and for much longer, but let me moan for a minute, I've never had it before!

OP is you’re taking 3x 10 mg of cetirizine a day, you need a prescription of something stronger. I take one a day and it deals with everything apart from the itchy eyes until bedtime but I hold out until the morning and take another on waking. I got some viscotears gel yesterday and it’s stopped the watering left eye- as I said upthread you can get dry eye ironically and it causes endless watering.The tear gel fixes that.

Also if it’s worse outside it’s likely pollen not the puppy.

Even if the certirizine eases it for the most part, it starts to creep back after 4 or so hours, and an open window or going out in bright sunshine is fatal. I walked the puppy across the field for 10 minutes just after 5pm, and that gave me a scratchy throat - I'd taken a tablet at 3pm.

Is there anything else OTC I can try, or is it going to be yet another call to the surgery?

OP is it 10mg cetirizine ? I can’t figure anything anywhere that says you can take more than one a day.

Find

Yes, 10mg - the nurse said they can go "off packet" (or whatever term it is they use) for cetirizine and you can in fact take it 3 times, with medical supervision obviously. I found loratadine slightly more effective for as long as it worked, but it wears off after about 10 hours and you can definitely only take 1 in 24 hours. I never thought to ask the pharmacist whether I could mix the two antihistamines, but common sense says not?

I have got eye mist but I found that although it soothed my actual eyes, it irritated the dry skin around them. I've got a nasal allergy blocker but it didn't do much.

I can feel that only a cold compress is going to help me now.

I've also had bad hayfever for the first time in my life since about 4 days ago. Taking cetrizine once a day at night, otherwise I was up all night sneezing! Then nasal spray twice a day and eye drops 4times a day. I had to brave Boots as it was driving me mad. Not sure the eye drops help, they make my eyes burn rather than itch for a while so I suppose better than constant itch! I'm hoping it is just three pollen as I can't imagine feeling like this all summer.

Also read that antihisitime effect is cumulative so keep taking them.

Oldraver I have the prongs from Lloyd's and they seem to work a bit.

Antihistamine eyedrops can be a lifesaver. One year I got a hide like rash on the inner eyelid and had to use cortisone eyedrops (on script here in Australia) combined with the antihistamine eyedrops.

The crowning glory is that about three years ago a clutch of about 8/10 eyelashes on the lower lid of my right eye began to grow inwards, towards the eye surface. Now that is a challenge to pluck! It can cause my eyes to discharge and gum up until they are long enough to pluck.

And, I will add, can be agonising at times.

Well, after a horrible agonising evening of trying fiercely not to rub my eyes and failing, I spent half the might awake, itching, with a cold wet flannel over my face.

This morning my left eye looked an odd shape, it hurt to blink and when I did, what I can only describe as jelly seemed to be poking out of it!

I scored a video call with the doc - our surgery is open, due to the extenuating circumstances I guess - and I've been prescribed fexofenadine, a steroid nasal spray, eye drops which must be antihistamine or something (sodium cromoglicate?), plus antibiotic eye drops IF my eye still feels very painful this evening and the clear film is still swollen.

The pharmacist advised against starting the fexofenadine today as I'd already had a dose of cetirizine. Bugger. But I've used the nasal spray and the drops, and although the sore eye is burning a little things don't feel too bad right now.

I'll update early evening though when it tends to get a lot worse...!

Thank you for all of the advice I've had since this started, totally out of the blue and having never had it before. The Dr just shrugged, smiled, and said that's just how it goes sometimes. We doubt it's the dog as I generally get worse when I go outside - it must be a freak episode of hayfever.

Anyone with a similar experience, will I now have this allergy forever? Or might it be a one off?

Sodium chromoglicate eye drops are great, but be aware that they can take a while for the full benefits to work. That is my experience, plus what my allergist told me. I got the impression from him that they are a long term thing, a bit like an asthma preventer as opposed to the reliever.

OP glad you got stronger stuff. My DM used to have fexofenodine and said it was great. I’m afraid that since my hay fever started about 15 years ago, it’s never gone. Some years are mild though. Hopefully you’re only allergic to tree pollen which is short lived.

I say never gone, I mean it does go after a month but returns each year. Just in case that wasn’t obvious.