Hayfever

[rosalux]

The sun is shining, the birds are twittering and spring is in the air. Unfortunately this means that hayfever has struck and I understand I can't take the pills I normally pop for six months of the year, so what to do? I get it quite bad (runny nose, streaming eyes, headache, nausea etc) so all suggestions gratefully received.

I asked my midwife and she said I had to see the doctor and get something prescribed it hasn't hit yet so I haven't been. I usually take the asda/zertec one a day ones but the midwife said that was a no no. The otherthing you could try is local honey, it works for my mum but I hate honey.

there is naff all we can take.... sorry

I sympathise - I was at my parents' house in NZ at Christmas (3 months gone). Their place is surrounded by fruit trees ... it was hell. It was so bad that I would wake up at 5.30 each morning with it. I visited two pharmacies, told at both that I shouldn't really take anything, even natural remedies.

The local honey thing is a myth, unfortunately. Personally I found that it abated after two weeks but it felt like a very long time to wait!

So no advice but sympathies x

I have found that putting my sunglasses on before I leave the house seems to help, it seems to stop the pollen getting too close to my eyes ...

I think I was able to use Beconase when I was pg. Obv. you need to check at the pharmacy and it takes a few days to really work. It's only March and I'm already using it - I didn't used to get hayfever till grass season in June. Sympathies, hayfever is grim without drugs.

Hi u can use beconase but sparingly not every 4 hours! I looked into this today as vie been really congested and wondering if starting to suffer earlier or whether it's just the pregnancy!

I don't usually feel that bad with hay fever to be fair as I had a sinus op but has been a nightmare 2 days!!

I find nasal washing with a netti pot really helpful. It takes some getting used to and there's limited places you can do it (public nasal washing ) but it does help stop the snot and the itchy back of throat thing. Can we use optrex for poor itchy eyes? Must investigate further...

Oh, I know! I get dreadful hayfever and seem to have been pregnant or trying to get pregnant for most of the recent summers.

My dad swears by local honey, but it hasn't worked for me. My mum has advised a dab of vaseline up the nostrils as the pollen sticks to it and doesn't get into your system. Not a great look but maybe worth a try.

Last summer, when we were trying for a baby, in absolute desperation I went to see my GP who gave me a nasal spray and eye drops that she said I could use if I really needed to. They both worked brilliantly. This summer, however, now that I'm pregnant I'm not sure how I would feel about using them. I think I may be forced towards the vaseline.

I'm a huge fan of Opticrom eyedrops - they really help me, and nasal spray a couple of times a day can be pretty good too (you need to start early, to build up immunity before the allergy really gets going). Having said that I've taken Zirtek daily for the last 15 years in the hayfever season, and am really nervous about having to manage without it this time round.