Is there anything else I can do to help ds with hay-fever?

[Workyticket]

I've never had it but poor ds (10) is really suffering.

Sneezing, blocked nose, sore eyes etc

He's come in today and his eyes are all puffy too

He's been on antihistamines for months but they seem to have no effect whatsoever.

Was also told by the pharmacist to only take one

@BiscoffSundae

Hay fever is still not taken seriously in this country. On a very bad day I end up taking a vital off my own making by adding in a piriton or two ( not piriteze) and then a phenergan for night time. I've anxiety given up asking my GP for help and advice so have just experimented myself with different OTC medication. Otherwise I literally can't function. I have TERRIBLE allergies in the summer and the hay fever mages all the other ( normally easily controlled things) just a mega sensitive nightmare.

Yes - LondonAllergy on Twitter gives expert advice or you could just buy her book.

She has a great thread on Twitter on what to do for hayfever here:

twitter.com/LondonAllergy/status/1508506037946626059

Her first bit of advice is never to use piriton! Says it's outdated, causes impairment not just drowsiness and superior alternatives have been invented in the last 74 years.

this might be a silly question but can I use eye drops/nasal sprays at the same time as oral medication?
DD has never suffered with hayfever before but all of a sudden this year she is so poorly, it seems to be mostly affecting her eyes and oral antihistamines alone are just not helping enough

You will need to check if they are ok for his age but this year I am using a mix of

Tablets
Nasal spray
Allergy eye mist
Allergy lozanges

All from boots.
Mine is awful this year

Opticrom eye drops plus cetirizine antihistamine syrup works for my son. The eye drops were the game changer. One or two per eye in the morning is usually enough, but can be repeated up to 4 times per day.

My DS is on Loratadine syrup twice a day (morning and bedtime) and has eye drops too, although he doesn't usually let us put them in his eyes. He likes a good old cold compress on his eyes when they're bad.

At home he's usually symptom free but within 5 minutes of going outside them bam his eyes swell up.

His eyes are the worse symptom and he has been sent home from school when they're really bad.

Air purifier made a huge difference to me. I keep it on overnight

You can get fexo otc now, I cut them in half for Dts, made a massive difference. There's a load of 'new' drugs that are now available otc because regulation has changed since brexit. It can also be as simple as changing anti-histamine. Don't give him whatever he's taking only when he has symptoms, get him to take it every day.

Definitely a nasal spray. You have to be consistent with it, and it takes a while to take effect. Also don't dry his bedding outside, it basically ends up being one big pollen trap.

Oh I've now got nasocourt, not sure if it's ok for kids but beconase is.

I use a few drops of Olbas oil on water in an oil burner. It’s an effective decongestant and also works to help cold and covid symptoms. Just keep the door closed, relax, and let it work its magic.

My 12 yo has:
Fexofenadine 120mg 1x day
Opticrom eye drops 2xday
Nose spray called something like Demysta 2x day

The above cocktail was prescribed by a private GP and definitely helps. Last year we had a much lower dose of fexofenadine and it didn't touch the sides.

I saw you can buy it, as Allevia, in Superdrug yesterday.

I'm making a list!

Can anyone recommend an airpurifier for his room please? And some allergy wipes?

Dh is keen for me to take him to the GP (notice the me bit) but not sure it's gp and day off worthy.

I couldn’t get fexofenadine for an under 12 OTC, so it depends how old he is. You may need a prescription.

My son in law swears by fexofenadine. It works for him and the two grandchildren who have terrible hay fever. I think it's sold otc now.

This is the air purifier I got: www.argos.co.uk/product/8760823?gbraid=0AAAAAD9II9m_pLUvzihhJpjHUeCANgffk&storeID=20&istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=iarimxalq&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157%7Cacid:598-923-9094%7Ccid:16560363009%7Cagid:132885990365%7Ctid:pla-882745329500%7Ccrid:587663764535%7Cnw:u%7Crnd:13041748022874277773%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:%7Cmt:%7Cloc:9045908&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=16560363009&utm_term=8760823&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=132885990365&utm_custom2=598-923-9094&GPDP=true&gbraid=0AAAAAD9II9m_pLUvzihhJpjHUeCANgffk&gclid=CjwKCAjwtcCVBhA0EiwAT1fY77QV_zfMC-B4xfvTWGqAX0398rAnBNINv3WB4TYCmSMId7hbZ3JCtxoCCKsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I use a 5 day course of Prednisolone 30 mg once a year. It always works and then I'm covered for the rest of the reason. GPs are fairly resistant to prescribing it. I'm not sure if they'd consider the paediatric dose for your son (steroids dampen the immune response and work wonders for asthma etc). I've read that consuming honey from bees in your area works too - perhaps a farmers market.

Marking place

OP I got this advice from here many years ago and it’s changed my DS life. Ask for a referral to your local paediatric allergy clinic and ask for a course of immunotherapy.
Your child will be tested for pollen allergy and then assessed for treatment. Our trust wanted all patients to have tried a four stage medication plan prior to allocating them immunotherapy.
When I first took him I cried as it was the first time someone had recognised just how debilitating a condition it is, and the list of symptoms that my ds had that were related was shocking.
He still takes anti histamine’s but generally gets away with 10mg otc or 180mg Fexofenodine on days like today.
Yes to all the above advice about washing, air purifier etc.

Reading. Ds1 has struggled very badly this year.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned on this thread yet is Becodefence. It's basically glue to trap pollen that you shoot up your nostrils.

I use Beconase spray and then Becodefence, which seems to work well for me.

There's a product called Barrier Balm which someone told me about last week. Like Vaseline but for hay fever. And they do wipes too. And I found it in Poundland. I used to swear by Beconese nasal spray but i get nose bleeds and it's not a good combo. I also find taking the antihistamine at night works best.

I'm glad you got this advice as I was about to say go back to GP
My Dd was out on fexofenadine and now I've been out in it too, DD was also on certazine. At one point it was jumped up to chloropramide (?) anyway pririton 4x daily too.

Nasal spray we use is mometasone (you can get nasal sprays over the counter. They help

But as others said, other practical changes help
-don't hang washing/bedding outside during pollen season (take note of when they get symptoms and look it up as it'll te you what pollens are at hugest during those months)
Sim glasses when outside
Wash clothes- inside and outside clothes, no outside shoes in the house- hoover and dust regularly

Use indoor fans rather than leave windows open in evenings and night, and close windows on high pollen days or just have them open for an hour no longer around the house
Don't have cut flowers in the house
Don't let pets who loll around in the garden enter child's bedroom or lay on their beds/pillows as furry pets bring in a lot of pollen and grass on their coats! Child should wash hands after petting them and no snuggling face into fur when cuddling pets during pollen season - a cuddly cat in their bed putting can undo all the other precautions you took!!!