What else for ds hayfever?

[confusednortherner]

Ds 12 is on fexofenodine twice a day, beconase nose spray and sodium cromoglicate eye drops. He's still struggling with very painful eyes and constant snot. One night this week his eyes started to swell (they did this last year to stage pharmacy thought we might need a&e) and tonight he was outside and briefly sat on grass and Came inside covered in bumpy rash with welts. He looked like he had burns.
I'm going to phone go Monday but realistically can they do much more?

Have you tried Vaseline around his nostrils to stop the pollen?

We have in past but not recently, I've got some so wouldn't hurt to give it another go.

Dymista nasal spray. Antihistamines and eye drops. Keep ahead of pollen, don’t let the symptoms start.

Wash hair often. Keep hair off his face. Wear sunglasses anytime outside. Glasses all the time are good, stops it making it too easy to scratch his eyes. Windows open in the day but curtains shut. Avoid going out at dawn and dusk when the pollen is highest. Wear clean clothes daily to avoid pollen on clothes.

This may seem extreme but it comes from 36 years of hayfever, which got progressively worse. Finally was ‘desensitised’ over 3 years, it’s worked to a large extent.

Rhinolight? Never had it but have been looking into it for allergies, seems promising.

yes to washing hair before bed.
no stuffed toys
anti allergic bedding
air filter

do you have pets? if yes you might need to rehome them.

I think early teens are a really tough time for bad hay fever. I remember some awful days like you are describing OP. My GP suggested steroids at one point but my parents weren't keen.

I take double dose of tablets on bad days (but obvs you'd need to check this with GP). Wash face often. I use cool soaked pads over my eyes to reduce swelling.

Wraparound sunglasses. Wear a hat to keep pollen off the hair when outside.

I can't sit directly on grass, if either going to seed or recently cut - I come out in hives.

Dry bedding inside, which is sad I know but does help.

Shower at night to wash pollen off before bed (and wash hair every day), and I will wash my arms and face when I come inside as well, or even have a shower if it's particularly bad.

Sounds ridiculous, but do you live close enough to the coast to visit? When I was suffering especially badly as a teenager my mum would take me to the beach for the day, as the air there used to be much better and it would give me some relief.

I used to have to have time off school because of how bad mine was at times, so I really do sympathise. Can you push the doctors to do and allergy test to see exactly what he is reacting to? I looked at injection hayfever treatments where you inject yourself every day over time to get used to it. As an adult mine has improved enough that it's not worth it; hopefully your son's will improve as well.

I'd also look into stronger nasal steroids with the doctors.

Oh poor thing... This sounds terrible...
Honestly I had really bad hayfever as a teenager... Mainly grass but also daffodils and lilys really effect me.

I used to get asthmatic with it and had miserable months each year.
Things that helped :
Large sunglasses, Air purifier in bedroom, only opened windows for short period in morning, kept all windows/doors in house closed. Would take off clothes and have shower when came in. Never sit directly on grass, no picnics etc. Days out to seaside when really bad.
I used to get lots of tonsillitis.. Mainly in April-July. They took them out and my hayfever appeared.

Unfortunately only thing that worked in end was when we moved house.. No longer as much countryside/different grass.. It reduced then and again strangely after pregnancy.
I was started on weekly injections in spring at doctors, they did for 2 years but pulled it before my last year... I think they now do it in hospitals. I was only at primary at the time but my understanding was it was to slowly expose me to allergen until no longer reacted.

@Allgirlskidsanddogs doing all that already Except sunglasses, will add those. I've asked gp about allergy testing but they say it's pointless as clearly environmental.

Crossed post with @Nacreous...🤣

I bought a thing from Savers last year that's like a gel pack for your eyes? You put it in the fridge to cool it. My eyes also swell up from hay fever, so I can sympathise. It won't fix it, but it's a relief when it happens.

We are a family of hayfever sufferers so I can empathise.
Previous posters have said more or less everything I was going to say but the only things I would add is that sometimes some antihistamines seem to work better for some people than others, even if there is no apparent scientific reason for it, so it might be worth asking your GP ifvthere's a different one to try.
Wrap around sunglasses, like cycling glasses keep pollen out of the eyes better than regular shaped ones in my experience. Vaseline round the nostrils is definitely worth a try, and if your DS has eczema make sure that is as well controlled as possible - basically try to treat all possible entry routes of allergens into the body. Don't dry and of his clothes or bedding outdoors and make sure he showers and washes his hair before bed, or else pollen will get transferred into pillows and mattress and continue to cause problems through the night.

I used anti pollen face masks when my hayfever was bad especially for bike rides / walks. Washing face with cool water ASAP when home to de pollen. Always glasses / sun glasses. Bad years I stayed indoors as much as possible - now have artificial grass which has been so helpful.

It’s not allergy testing he needs but desensitisation. Ask for a referral to immunology. Not all hospitals do it, I had to go to the big city hospital.

Starts with skin prick tests for common allergens and a blood test. If it shows grass pollen allergy they may consider if he’s eligible for desensitisation. 6 months worth of pollen pills, taken daily. Then a break and then repeated for the second and third years.

It’s a rule of thirds, one third will find no change, one third will find symptoms are reduced and manageable with antihistamines etc and a third will have a dramatic improvement and be able to go without further prescriptions. I fell into the middle group, symptoms dramatically improved and manageable with prescriptions. It’s incredible, I have to check with a colleague to see how badly she’s reacting. I can go outside again May-July!!

I wish they did it for tree pollen too.

Thanks all some good ideas, he's just had a cool shower for second time since tea and it's helped a bit. I'll look in to some of those ideas rhinolight sounds interesting and can look for a air purifier. We've been staying home mostly as ds and I are asthmatic and being careful but seaside sounds good and we can keep away from people.
Unfortunately can't move as live rurally and love it here and we do have pets but they've been here since ds was tiny and he's fine rest of year so won't be considering rehiring them.

Do NOT dry any bedding or clothes outdoors. It can transfer from yours. (No matter wow much it kills you).

Pollen lands on the clothes and bedding and causes 24 hour misery .

Keep curtains shut in the bedroom when the windows are open,

Leave a clean sheet OVER his bedding to catch pollen and remove carefully before bed.

Shower before bet at the very least and when coming in if he’s bee somewhere pollen-y.

Have indoor clothes, so outdoor clothes don’t go upstairs to the bedroom.

You’re trying to keep a barrier between the pollen and him.

I’ve found that a NeilMed nasal irrigation kit has really helped. It’s an odd feeling but it completely washes out the nasal cavity and brings a good level of relief for me on very difficult days. Hay fever can be so debilitating, but this is a good non-drug solution to have in your armoury alongside everything else.

That's good explanation of desensitisation thank you, what a shame it doesn't work for tree pollen. I'm sure he reacts to tree pollen but clearly grass is a big problem judging by tonight! Even a reduction in symptoms would be helpful.

Oh I've got a neilmed for sinusitis, I'll go dig it out....

wrt pets. it's not just their fur/dander. but also pollen they bring in on their fur (especially dogs with oily coats, like retrievers, cockers). or bedding(hay/straw/sawdust) of small pets

A product called haymax has made a difference for me.

It's not a cheap option but I bought my highly allergic to everything 13 year old DS a Dyson air purifier. Of course you need to be in the same room as it but we switch it on overnight and it does help him sleep and wake up feeling fresher.

Apart from that it's hair wash each night and fresh clothes each day. He's inhaler dependant too so keeping up with this is important here.

WRT to the nasal spray, Dimysta, it contains antihistamine (can be used in conjunction with antihistamine pills) which delivers the antihistamine to where the reaction is happening. All nasal sprays are not equal and I found this far more effective than any other.

Ask yo be referred to an immunologist. DS has been incredibly I'll every year forever with hayfever/rhinitis symptoms to the extent he cannot leave the house. He has been prescribed a drug called Avamys nasal spray which is a particularly good one and can also have up to 4 cetirizine in conjunction with his fexofenadine. He started immunotherapy when he was 14 which unfortunately (rarely) didntcwotk for him but your hospital might be able to give this if they deem your sons case severe enough. Ds is now on the drug combo and wears an ffp 2 or 3 mask and sunglasses on high pollen days whilst we wait to go back to the allergist. A referral is your best option as they have better prescribing options.