Pleasseee talk to me about hayfever

[museumum]

I have developed hayfever in the last few years (in my 40s). It’s taken a while to be pretty sure it is hayfever not just a run of summer colds (though still might be that I guess). Pharmacist was useless and just pointed me to a wall of options. I grabbed one at random which was loratidine. It seems to give some relief. I think.

I only tend to remember to take it when the itchy nose and eyes are bad - is there an advantage to taking it religiously every day?

How do I know it’s the right drug for me? (Sooo many options).

should I pay (£300) for a private allergy screening to see what pollenexactly I’m allergic to? Would that help me manage it?

Anything else I should know?

I suffer a lot from hay-fever, have since childhood. If over the counter is working I wouldn't bother testing. There is a benefit in taking the tablets every day but I'm very forgetful (worse when cotton wool brained from allergies) so take when I start to feel the effects of not and within an hour I'm fine, so no huge loss when I do miss it.

Should also have added, most of the current once a day non-drowsy meds are very similar in action.