DS' hayfever is 'ruining his life'

[getearnow]

Overdramatic title for attention, although he did say that!

DS (8) has been dreading spring because his hayfever is pretty extreme. It has started already, he said everyone at school kept accusing him of crying but it was the hayfever.

We have tried over the counter age-appropriate tablets (both cetirizine hydrochloride and loratadine) in previous years but they don't touch the sides. I really want to help him, is there anything I can do?
Is it too much to take him to the doctors? I don't want a judgmental Drs receptionist accusing me of time wasting..
I was thinking of asking a pharmacist for advice but I think they'll just point us to things we've already tried.
Does anything work?

Also it really impacts exams, DS got adjustments (not extra time but sitting far from windows and ability to ‘stop the clock’ and take a break to dose up /rinse /blow nose etc during his exams £ and a month long course of oral steroids for both GCSEs and A levels to try and minimise his reactions. So grateful we pushed when he was younger so the GPs and Consultants would work together to help him

My son has the same as allevia on prescription. Pharmacist won't sell it for someone that young

@getearnow

Fyi, the drug in Allevia is Fexofenadine, which you can get on prescription from GP age 6 +

www.nhs.uk/medicines/fexofenadine/

My DS found that a hay fever balm helped him a lot. It's a sticky, like Vaseline, ointment that he puts around the inside of his nostrils. The pollen gets trapped in it, as well as dust mites etc, and it meant that he could stop taking medication.

Fexofenadine and also montelukast should make a big difference. Montelukast needs to be prescribed.

Don't hang his clothes, bedding or towels outside
Keep his window closed
Use sunglasses
Start using antihistamine before symptoms

Not dramatic, if you get it bad it's really debilitating and like having the flu, it's really bloody horrible. I am currently taking a fexofenadine 180mg morning and night and if I forget one I know about it. I get it year round. Cetirizine wipes me out, Loratidine doesn't work.

I had Kenalog injections for it while I was at school before the NHS stopped them and I'm really considering looking into getting one privately this year, last year was hellish. Take him to the GP, he's not making it up, and I hardly go to the GP from one decade to the next.

Definitely GP, there is more options
I took 4 cetirizine daily for years for hives so you can take more than one as well

Fexofenadine.

It is quite life ruining!

Keep on top of it at home by keeping windows closed, not hanging bed linen outside to dry and damp dusting his room every few days.

Wash all bedding at 60 degrees. Buy a new pillow if possible.

If he's having a terrible day, a shower and hair wash helps for a while and going swimming is even better.

(The best escape is to find some underground nice damp tunnels to explore!)

eye drops, fexofenadine (but take this from Jan onwards every day), nasal spray.. go to the GP they will know what is age appropriate. Also get an air purifier, this has changed my life (i also struggle with dust but it helps with hayfever too).

Just take your child to the GP. I get two tablets, a nasal spray and eye drops and they work well.

why are you letting our own issue about doctors receptionists affect your child health?

Start building up the antihistamine treatment now - it doesn't work properly if you wait until the symptoms are in full swing.

Fellow hay fever sufferer here.
Your son is not making things up it can be horrendous to live with.
Definitely get him to a GP - there will be medications that are available on prescription that can help but you need advice. Fexofenadine used to be on prescription only I had it for a few years before you could get it over the counter and is very good, but as others have said other the counter only recommended for over 12's. Your Dr may prescribe it for you son on a different dose. He may also need a nasal spray and or eye drops.

Also second the advice of starting to take anti histamines early - so March is definitely the time to start thinking about this (if not before).
Also as above - dry his washing indoors or use tumble dryer, consider a air purifier in his room.

Also another non medicated suggestion is to buy some locally produced honey (as local as possible) and take 1 teaspoon every day. It can ease symptoms - but wont solve the allergy completely.

Treathay is a generic fexofenadine that you can buy cheaply in places like home bargains.

Fexofenadine is the only thing that helps me and you can buy it OTC now without a script.

Both my kids did immunotherapy Grazax for grass pollen allergy and developed oral allergy syndrome.

Both now itch when eating apples, kiwi, peaches, hazelnut etc. pretty shocking as there is no warning of this.

proceed with caution.

OP you could try your DS drinking kefir, generally those with allergies have reduced bacterial diversity in their guts. Replenish the good bacteria, increase the short chain fatty acids, watch the inflammation come down. It takes a few weeks. My DS likes the raspberry kefir from Biotful.

This is an alternative approach and might not be for everyone - but could be worth considering....

This book puts forward the theory that the body is over reacting to a whole host of stressors and it is the pollens (or whatever ..) that tips the body over the edge so if you remove many of the controllable factors that are adding stress to the body, your body might be able to cope with the pollens.

This approach, along with homeopathy, which in part involved creating a remedy from the pollens and chemicals that DS was reacting to, has worked for my son. Food is a big factor (sugar, dairy, tomatoes, beef, gluten - he can tolerate them, but if he reduces these, he is less likely to have other symptoms), he sleeps on a wool mattress, foam is not good for him, nor are many of the perfumed chemicals in so many things, we have no carpets. Every time he displaying hay fever symptoms, we have been able to track down another thing that he is being exposed to, when removed, his hay fever symptoms diminish. We often say - he is sneezing - that must be X. (currently it is hair products!).

It has been quite a journey to identify all of the things that put my son's immune system under pressure, but he is a robust 15 year old now. When he first started showing hay fever symptoms, he was wheezing a lot, and reacting badly to Ventolin so we had to find a way to help him be less reliant on Ventolin.

He also takes high doses of vitamin c and magnesium, when he had symptoms, as this improves his histamine response and reduces inflammation.

My husband used to suffer really badly from hay fever - he takes some homeopathic remedies if needed - maybe for a week or so, every two to three years. Before, he was on antihistamines for months at a time.

The book, despite the title, will not eliminate allergies in 7 days - but it will give you things to think about and ways to support the entire body, which might result in a significant reduction in symptoms.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/7-Day-Allergy-Makeover-Eliminate-Allergies/dp/0399166246/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3F1HAAHCURGEH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qkRR-hQXWBrq6444ujeVNA.V9rgnHRGl2vvbOX5lL75wmXHWlQENoHCWuSiThPVUI8&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+7+day+allergy+makeover&qid=1741105171&sprefix=the+7+day+allergy+makeover%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1

I have suffered horribly from hayfever since childhood and it’s really debilitating - I wouldn’t say it’s a waste of a GP appointment to flag this for him and they can recommend age appropriate treatment (nasal sprays / prescription eye drops etc) and then they also have it on record he’s a severe sufferer in case future related health conditions appear - in my case allergy induced asthma and oral allergy reactions.

@TrainGame and @Phunkychicken .. I have heard quite a bit of anecdotal evidence of this - but couldn't find any research that looks into it. I have heard some great success stories about immunotherapy and the research is compelling - but the risk of adding more stress to the immune system and resulting in other unintended consequences, is a concern for me.

Our GP prescribed fexofenadine, montelukast and Benadryl nasal spray at around the same age. It changed his life. From barely being able to see and blisters on his arms, legs and torso, (on his eyeballs from rubbing on a couple of occasions) to being able to play cricket on a sports field in July with no problems.

Now 22, he’s pretty much grown out of it so hang on in there (it flies by!)

You need to get Fexofenadine on prescription. And a nasal spray.

Hayfever can be absolutely debilitating. I had it so badly as a child and into adulthood. By the time I was 30 I'd had enough and couldn't imagine suffering for the rest of my life with it, so I have done a course of immunotherapy which has helped enormously and (fingers crossed) is a permanent solution. It's incredibly pricey but if any of my children show signs of hayfever I think I will pay for it for them, as it's so miserable dreading the summer every year, not being able to go for walks, picnics, play in the park etc...just not being able to breathe for several months of the year!

Fexafenadine is a great antihistamine that only used to be prescription only but recently they have moved it to over the counter medication. Worth a try as I have lots of patients that have found it works well.

Also, with antihistamines .... they work by stopping the body producing histamine. Any histamine that is already in the body takes a while (the length of a red cell cycle about 32 days) to be naturally excreted from the body. So whilst starting anti-histamines when you get symptoms feels like it makes sense, it is actually much more beneficial to start it in advance. If it is the same time of year every year that he is affected, then start it 2-4 weeks before that time start to allow it maximum benefit time.

Generic Allevia. Also B&M or Home Bargains to face wipes and a pot of stuff you put under your nose to 'catch' pollen.
Allevia is a game changer but I use the wipes on my hair after a big long walk and use the pot before I go.
The most frustrating symptom is the itchy ears/ soft palate.
I have eye drops just in case because I don't ever want to experience the awful itchy eyes that turn into weird water blisters .
I'm already pre dosing.