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?

DD has Fexofenadine on prescription and then Piriton if she needs it later on. It's definitely ok to go to the GP if it's making him miserable.

On the flip side, immunotherapy for tree and grass pollen (also with Grazax) reduced my DD's oral allergy syndrome as well as largely alleviating her seasonal allergies. Allergies also stress the immune system, by the way.

Fun fact that I learned, if you tell an allergist what fruit and vegetables you react to, they can tell you which tree pollens you're allergic to.

Question for those recommending a nasal spray..what is a good one to get for a 13 year old please?

DD has this one together with fexofenadine. Both on prescription.

e-surgery.com/product/avamys-nasal-spray/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_id=17715324937&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAC-MUmFI9OSMnhZPjY-RMUvgo6sYF&gclid=CjwKCAiA5pq-BhBuEiwAvkzVZfELhNVMyZrRpRPWKwhPHHNnQXrF7lKWw4zAOxGfYT6vw1UbcfCdqRoCjsoQAvD_BwE

Ask for a Drs appointment about son and just say allergies.

You can ask Dr to refer you for skin prick and blood testing at nearest hospital most likely.

You can get skin prick tests for grass, dust, cat hair etc and will then be in the allergy system to find a regime that should work for son. Bearing in mind any regime might need to be altered because allergies can change with age.

Home bargains also sell the Kleenex allergy hay fever wipes which are good for school

Get GP to prescribe. My DD has the same - itchy thick eyes, runny nose - the lot. over the counter meds don't work - those prescribed do.

You can get it (smaller dose) from the GP for kids under 12. My dd had it for years from the GP until she was 12 and I could just buy it over the counter.

We ended up going down the route of red fleshed apples as per this study to try and reduce the itch. The proteins in birch and apples are almost identical.

It's worked for my DD and it's worked fairly well for my DS but he still experiences itch with some fruits.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8127540/

I'm going to keep going with kefir with my DS. He has a much more limited diet than my DD who eats a ton of fruit and veg and fermented foods.

I think it may be that it's an imbalance in the oro-nasal microbiome, too many inflammatory bacteria in these areas that throws things off balance and studies are slowly coming to light to show this.

What's weird is that DS didn't show much reactivity to birch pollen in his test and yet ended up far more itchy than DD once he stopped Grazax in the mouth.

How long did you your DS take Grazax for? @user9876543211

Hi OP, your title isn't overdramatic. Hayfever ruins and controls my life so I empathise with your son completely.
I have tried everything - all tablets including Allevia/fenoxofenidine, nasal spray and eye drops, air purifier, vaseline round eyes and nose with sunglasses, pollen mask, window pollen filter, shower/hair/clothes wash after being outside, vacuum cleaner with pollen filter, gluten free, herbal medicine, homeopathic medicine, quercetin, nettle tea, local honey, bee pollen, staying inside all day... and my ears, throat, eyes, nose, lungs are all still swollen and itchy.
I even moved continent.
The most difficult part to deal with is people's understanding, like teachers and friends - having to explain that sitting by a classroom window in the summer is like torture and it's impossible to concentrate. The constant sneezing and itching distracts the other pupils too. No outdoor sports - I did indoor sport in the summer. No going near newly mown grass, no walking through fields, no camping trips - one night camping caused a serious issue as my eyes swelled up so much I couldn't see or go to school. Go to the beach literally for relief. Even second generation antihistamines have an effect on concentration, despite the claims. If your son continues to have serious problems you are going to have to change his lifestyle during the hay fever season.
The only thing that helps are steroids - steroid injections which are available privately or tablets. However he is only 8 so this may be tricky.
I met a prescribing pharmacist who suffers really badly herself, and she admits the only thing that helps her are steroid injections - and she knows all the drugs and treatments available. She believes that there is an element of general inflammation in the body that means it can't cope with hay fever on top. The steroids help deal with the general inflammation so the body can deal with hay fever more easily. Anecdotally I think she may have a good point. So consider your son's other health indications and believe him when he says how horrible it is. Best wishes OP.

@getearnow

Bless him, hayfever did completely ruin my life for a good ten years - imagine spending every spring/summer feeling like you have flu. It was awful UNTIL I went to an acupuncturist -
I’m not exaggerating when I say I walked in virtually unable to breathe properly and left an hour later looking normal. This was 20 years ago and I’ve never even needed a repeat session. If you’re in NW London, I’d be happy to give you her name x

The game changer for me was starting them in early Feb rather than waiting for symptoms. That and Opticrom. I no longer try to scratch my eyes out thanks to that!'

She did it for three years (I think? it was quite a while ago) alongside injections for tree pollen. Her grass and tree pollen allergies are basically gone and her OAS is reduced but not gone and she generally prefers lightly cooked fruit and veg as she says she thinks she sometimes gets psychosomatic itchiness from so many years of reacting. Her diet is extremely varied and always has been, so I don't worry too much. My DH also has OAS, so there's a hereditary component.

Honestly this is exactly what the GP is there for. The NHS is in such an absolute mess that we as a society have gotten into the habit of thinking that you need to be near to death to access healthcare in fear of “wasting” their time. You have tried over the counter products and they aren’t helping, it’s affecting his day to day life negatively and there are prescription products that could make a big difference to his quality of life. It is entirely appropriate to see a gp in this case. And I say this as a healthcare worker!

Fexofenadine (brand name allevia I think) gave me a lot of relief at that age. I ended up on 180mg by 12 and am still on it now.

You then need a steroid nasal spray - the effect will build up. I use beconase. You can get it from savers but I dunno if it's suitable for children as I was prescribed it as a child.

And finally I would strongly recommend sunglasses for being outside to minimise pollen in the eyes, as well as a shower including rinsing hair before bed.

The hay fever wipes in a yellow packet from home and bargain are good, and fexofenadine. On a really bad day I cocktail it with a loratadine.

Symptoms wise, Sudafed blocked nose space is great

I know how he feels. I was the same, my summers were hell until I started using a nasal spray , I use Beconase. Stopped all my symptoms, including the eye itching. You do have to start using it about a month before the season starts.

I second speaking to GP and adding in nasal sprays.

Also to say that antihistamines take a while to build up so try to start a couple of weeks before his hayfever season starts.

Maybe also shampoo his bedroom carpet, change his bedding and put a hepa air purifier in his bedroom?.

Take him to gp
Ask for referral for allergy testing
Ask about different options for meds to try
Gp s are are there for this

Your poor ds. He definitely needs to see a GP. My DS was older when he started suffering but he ended up taking fexofenadine and montelukast as well as a nasal spray and eye drops. All treatment needs starting asap and continuing with exactly as prescribed.

Not drying any of his bedding or laundry outside also helped.

Thank you

Thank you so much for all your comments. So many recommendations and so much advice I can't reply individually to all but I really appreciate it.
Just to answer some questions, no I don't have hay fever myself and I never have, so maybe I wasn't taking his symptoms as seriously as I should be. I now realise how awful it is. Feel bad about this.
I definitely need professional advice so my first stop will be at the pharmacy tomorrow then my next port of call is the GP.
Thanks again to all the kind people that commented

I have had hay-fever my whole life. It sucks. I've never found an effective treatment. I completely understand your son's feelings as there are times when I have been severely impeded by it. I am allergic to tree pollen which hits morning and evening, and in spring and end of summer.

I had my first episode of it for this year on Friday.

Whilst it didn't really help to find out what triggers it (I cant really avoid trees), I have found that certain perfumes trigger it, and some other weird things, and I can avoid those.

Your son will find ways to manage it, but if his is anything like mine, he will need to make some adjustments.

Can also recommend fexofenadine. My son has this prescribed by the allergy clinic and also takes pititon at night.
It's not perfect and he still gets symptoms including eczema, but it has made it feel manageable compared to when he was just having cetrizine and piriton.