Pollen count is low, so.why do I have awful hayfever?

[CelestialGalaxy]

Every year between Feb and April I get hayfever. I think my hayfever is quite bad and the drugs barely touch it, but whenever I think 'the count must be high today' and go and check...no it says its 'low'.
In the last few days it's really been bothering me and makes me feel really wretched. It gives me asthma, makes my hands, face and mouth and eyes itch. It wakes me up in the night and I feel like i have flu constantly. Does anyone else get this, has anything made you feel better?

Could it be an allergic reaction to something else?

I have it sooo badly! I don't take anything so can't help, but wanted to sympathise. I think tree pollen is actually high in March?

I'm not sure what they use to calculate pollen levels but my hay-fever starts up soon, and it's tree pollen which sets me off. I start taking loratadine in the weeks BEFORE I know my symptoms will start and supplement with the up-the-nose stuff (because?) when I'm in the midst of it.

Because=Beconase

I had this for a couple of weeks, then it developed into a cold and then nothing. Could there be a weird cold going round that starts with a couple of weeks of sneezing?

Dust allergy here :(, but there are lots of other contenders depending on where you live, traffic pollution, tree pollen, fungal spores, fertiliser spread to name a few.

Have you had a proper discussion with a gp?

It depends on the type of pollen. While overall levels are low, tree pollen is a bastard atm and it actually falls on your face.

Thanks for the replies, glad I am not going mad.
@Quadrangle definitely allergy due to itching and the fact I get it every year at same time.
@Timeforabiscuit I have been to the docs about it. A few years ago I went for skin prick tests so i know I am allergic to tree and mould and dust. I'm afraid the only other thing they could offer me last year was steroids which i wasn't keen to take with covid being around. Have you been offered/found any treatments work?

Tree pollen is everywhere at the moment although levels overall are low. The only antihistamine I've tried that really works is fexofenadine, it's prescription only but (for me at least) doesn't have any side effects.

Yup, culprit in my case main culprit was a dusty bedroom, so gave it a thorough deep clean and replaced soft furnishings (curtains were horrendous, I was streaming just taking them down).

My workplace is surrounded by trees, which was also a bad trigger, so working from home has actually helped immensely!

It’s tree pollen for me as well. Grew up in the middle of nowhere surrounded by fields and never had any symptoms. Moved to london and it floors me every year.
Agree with a previous poster, try to get fexofenadine from your doctor

Also showering twice a day and wearing a hoody up really helped with the tree pollen - sounds a bit extreme, but it's for a few weeks in the spring so I doubt anyone actually notices.

I concentrated on physical barrier methods as the nasal sprays worked to a point, but anything more heavy duty left me so muzzy headed that I couldn't work.

You might be more allergic to some than others. Forsythia really sets me off, and that is in full flower round here at the moment.

Thanks, i thought i had replied but obviously didnt post!
I take two fexafenadine a day and have different tablets for nightime. My house has trees nearby but i dont own them and i didn't know I was allergic before moving here. Unfortunately it seems one of my dc is also affected and takes loretadine. Even if I could move I usually am ok for a bit and then I develop allergies to local trees which has happened twice before. I know it's only 3 months I am affected for, but it does affect my quality of life in that time.

It's the pits, isn't it?

I once went on a fortnight's holiday to Majorca in June, and had no hay fever symptoms at all while I was away. My sneezing started again when we returned - I was about halfway down the plane steps at Luton Airport.

@expectopelargonium

It's the pits, isn't it?

I once went on a fortnight's holiday to Majorca in June, and had no hay fever symptoms at all while I was away. My sneezing started again when we returned - I was about halfway down the plane steps at Luton Airport.

Haha. I used to a holiday abroad every year in June because it gave me blessed relief for a week or two. Couldn't doit once we had to stick to school holidays.

Maybe thats the answer, i should work from abroad for 3 months

At this time of year it's likely to be tree pollen. Birch pollen is my trigger. March and April are utterly miserable for me, peaking around mid-april. It's all passed by end of May when everyone else starts suffering.

You can buy air purifiers that remove pollen, dust and other allergens from inside the house, so at least once inside, you can feel better.
They are quite expensive
www.healthline.com/health/air-purifier-for-allergies

My hayfever always starts really early, at least early March with the tree pollen. I get insanely itchy eyes that keep me awake it’s hideous... that lasts for about 2-3 months and then it changes - the eyes reduce but the nose itch increases, with the grass pollen.
I also get stuffed up itchy ears, an itchy nose and sinus pain.
I love summer but absolutely hate spring!