To ask if any other allergy sufferers are getting increasingly worried now the pollen count is rising?

[OnlyJoker]

I have very very bad hayfever and have also been diagnosed with allergic rhinitis. It's horrid.

One of my main symptoms when I have a flare up is that I struggle to breath, or struggle to feel like I have enough air going in. This causes constant yawning and a tight feeling in my chest.

It was really bad yesterday, triggered by the high pollen count and it's made me even more worried about if I were to catch this virus.

To clarify I was taken to the doctor's over it often as a child and they confirmed I did not have asthma (although maybe I should go again?) but that the allergies could cause these symptoms.

Sometimes antihistamines help, sometimes I just have to ride it out.

Any other allergy sufferers out there worried?

What is it that worries you ? That if you catch the virus it will be worse as you already have sypmtoms similar (tight chest etc)

I take ant-histimines but there are still some days liek yesterday thta I will sneeze.

I'm not worried about it though will run out of meds next week and either suffer hayfever or try and move onto different meds (which I have tried and they made me like a zombie)

That if you catch the virus it will be worse as you already have sypmtoms similar (tight chest etc)

Yes. Because I already struggle to breathe when I'm having allergy problems.

Boil up some citrus peel and keep your head over the steam for 20 minutes. It really helps with nasal congestion and breathing.

Yes. I have mild asthma but I get a dreadful dry persistent cough that can last for months once it takes hold. I sing in a chorus and the breathing exercises manage my asthma well but that’s off at the moment. Trying to carry on with it at home. I’m taking antihistamine and nasal spray daily plus my asthma powder inhaler. I’m usually really casual with my inhaler use but I’m on it at the moment. Also making sure I am exercising to keep my lung capacity up.

Yes i worry, partly about the breathing issues but also just the sheer amount of mucus i produce in my sinuses during hayfever! If that was going on in my lungs id be very ill. If my immune system respinds to pollen like that, whats it goung to do to covid19.
But i have read nothing that suggests this is an issue so its just my mind in over drive.
In the mean time can i suggest a smear of vaseline up the nose really helps.

It's mainly the breathing for me. My eyes stream and itch and I really struggle to get enough oxygen (that's what it feels like anyway), wheeze, yawn constantly, feels like my chest is tight. My nose is just blocked, I don't really sneeze and it doesn't run but I can't breathe through it iyswim.

I have fairly bad allergies (though my hay-fever is grass pollen rather than tree pollen so I don't get it til may), I also have mild asthma. The hay fever season doesn't affect my asthma, but I seem to have some allergy to leaf mould possibly that flares up in october/November that does affect my asthma. The times when Ive had to have courses of steroids have been at that time of year following a virus.

I think I had covid19 3 weeks ago (undiagnosed obviously), main symptom being breathlessness and a tight chest as well as slight fever and dry cough. The amount of coughing was much less than a normal post-virus tbh and I had no mucus production at all. Its not a time of year when I typically get allergies but just if this sets your mind at rest amongst all the horror stories at the moment. I had been taking my steroid inhaler x 4 times instead of the usual once just in case.

Do you take inhalers if you struggle to breath?

Have you ever been hospitalised with the struggle to breath?

I don't take inhalers because they've never been prescribed to me, I've been told I don't have asthma albeit that was a long time ago. One of my parents has very bad asthma (shielded at the moment) and I have used their inhalers once or twice when I was a teen when it was really bad.

I was taken to hospital once when I was about 20. They told me it was a panic attack though probably brought on by the initial breathlessness which caused me to panic and so forth.

I went through a stage about 2 years ago where I was like this for the whole year and I was back and forth to the doctor's all the time, they just kept telling me it was allergic rhinitis and giving me nasal sprays. It's not really my nose that's the problem though but the doctors don't seemed concerned and I've had it my whole life so 🤷

I don't understand - if you are struggling to breath, a doctor would have done something, prescribed something and had you seen by a specialist... You surely would have called an ambulance too?

There's a lot of people now claiming they have been struggling to breath for years - just to get inhalers now because there is a stupid idea floating around that they help with Covid. They don't. They actually increase the risk of infections and viruses.

Apologies to be so blunt but there's many people now claiming this and quite frankly it's bollocks to have insisted something was done about it before now.

What anti histamines do you take and are you taking them daily? I'm sure the advice given to me in the past was to take them whether or not the pollen count was high.

What do you take for your hay fever? My mother has suffered from severe hay fever her whole adult life but there are lots of treatments you can try to find something that helps, hers is now mostly under control and she has just occasional bad days. A couple of years back she had regular injections, I don't really know the details, but they made an enormous difference and now she can cope with just daily antihistamines (all year round) and nasal sprays/eye drops.

One of my hayfever symptons is wheeziness, and my gp prescribes asthma inhalers for use just during the hayfever season - I use the brown preventative one twice a day and have a blue reliever in case of emergencies. I was told it's better to use the brown inhaler regularly at this time of year to keep things calm as flare-ups can result in scarring of the lungs. I also have anti-histamines prescribed by the gp - fexofenadine - which I find is better than over-the-counter anti-histamines.

My immune system seems to go into overdrive even with a common cold so I'm concerned about how it might react to this virus too.

Olinguito, I'm the same, I have several autoimmune conditions and if I even get an ordinary cold it always develops into a chest infection and takes me 4-6 weeks to get over. I assumed if I got it, it would hit me hard. I think I have had Covid-19 though, 4 weeks ago. It wasn't too bad for me, just like a normal chest infection. Obviously I don't know for sure because I wasn't tested, but it followed the exact timeline/symptoms.

I take Loratadine daily. It's the only antihistamine that seems to make a difference.

I have bad hay fever and no it does not worry me. It shows me that my immune system is very active and robust even if it’s attacking harmless pollen. So I think it would attack COVID just as well.

If you were suffering from allergic rhinitis for an entire year, you may also be allergic to dust mites or mould spores or your pet if you have one. Look around you and see what your triggers are because just hay fever should really be seasonal and not year round.

Suggest you also try a stronger anti-histamine. None of the daily tablets work for me. I have to take a double dose of Benadryl every eight hours to only go through one box of tissues a day. Without it I am too sick to get out of bed.

When I had the bad flare up 2 years ago, I had a nasal spray prescribed and a spray for my ears as the build up of fluid was also causing blocking and pain in my ears as well. I've not had that now for about a year though.

Just this eye streaming and wheezy tight chested breathlessness if the pollen count is high or if it's particular dusty. I can't hoover for example because that sets it off badly.

I worry as a news exert a bit ago said that apparently the people who are V ill are those whose body appears to have an ott immune system reaction to the virus and there immune system starts attacking the body such as the lungs etc, and my asthma is a similar ott immune system reaction so I worry that I am that way inclined if I did get it.

Suggest you also try a stronger anti-histamine

Thanks. The doctor just suggested I take two at a time of the ones I take already. They never seem bothered to be honest.

I would go back to your Gp and get better anti histamine... I did last year as was having constant reactions even when on my usual ... so hog prescription meds which made a massive difference.

On really bad days (like yesterday) I take top ops as well!

Make sure you are taking your tablet at bedtime - they can take 8 hours to reach full effectiveness. I used to take mine (I take loratidine) in the morning and I really notice a difference just from changing the timing. Avoid going outside (handy at the moment!) and change clothes, wash hands etc when you come inside. Use a damp cloth for dusting.
When you can see a gp again, see if you can be prescribed a stronger antihistamine and steroids and get referred for immunotherapy if that doesn't work.

I have had perennial rhinitis virtually all my life, I am not affected by the most common allergens, the worst time of year for me is the autumn (mould spores). Over the counter antihistamines do not work for me, I have fexofenadine prescribed, which is now not effective, also I used to have a steroid spray which was brilliant, it is now not available.
A few years ago my GP gave me steroid injection which controlled all my symptoms for over 2 months at the worst time for me, as far as I am aware not available any longer.
I find built up areas really bad for symptoms, at least my breathing isn’t effected but I can feel my throat closing and lose my voice (which my DP thinks is great).
In my personal opinion some doctors seem to brush away the effect it has on people’s lives.

Have you thought of using a nasal spray? I use Avamys and it’s made a massive difference. You can get it via your GP or via one of the online pharmacies by doing an online consult.

I think there is a similar version available from the pharmacy counter?

If you do go down the nasal spray route, have a google on how to use it properly - up nostril pointing to outer eyebrow/cheek - otherwise it’ll just go down the back of your nose.

Also google ‘one airway theory’ for hay fever/asthma.

I don’t use antihistamines anymore since using the spray.

In my personal opinion some doctors seem to brush away the effect it has on people’s lives

This is exactly how it feels. I don't care if PP thinks it's bollocks. I've been to the GP numerous times over this and they never seem interested. It's just a fact of life that people have allergies and so there seems to be a shrug sort of attitude I've experienced when trying to get help.

Same with my DS. Wasn’t till we finally got to see an allergy specialist that he was prescribed a nasal spray and instructed to use it daily from end Feb till end Sept.