Any remedies for hay fever?

[DuRezidal]

I am almost 10 weeks pregnant and get really bad hay fever at this time of year due to hawthorn and certain tree pollen. Normally I take 2 antihistamines a day but all the ones I have say do not take when pregnant.

It causes me to have a very severe cough and lose my voice completely.

Does anyone know anything that is safe to take? I have an appointment with the midwife in just over a week so will speak to her too but it's really knocking me out at the moment.

Local Honey! Must be local as that contains pollen from local plants. I suffered when I was young and my herbalist mother gave me local Honey every morning on my cereal.

There were a couple of threads on this a week or two ago.

BUT, to summarise

1. NHS advise that it is ok to use sprays such as beconase, as they mostly don't cross into the bloodstream (and for me are far more effective than the antihistamine tablets

2. Loratidine and cetirizine are also ok

www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/935.aspx?categoryid=54

Haymax! Available in larger Boots and is fine when pregnant:

www.boots.com/haymax-pure-organic-drug-free-allergen-barrier-balm-5ml-10084612

I bet your midwife will tell you to make an appointment with your GP, so you might want to consider doing that rather than waiting a week only to be told to go to the GP. Especially if you are really suffering.
Have you tried Vaseline around your nostrils? May be worth a try if desperate! And having a shower changing out of clothes when you get home for the day.

I was told to take piriton

GP told me nothing but ventolin for asthma

YY to hay max. Really helped me.

Thanks.

It doesn't help that I have an outside job as I own a horse stud so this is just the worst time of year for me.

gps who tell you there is nothing you can take should be struck off imo.

usually cetirizine or loratadine are fine as are steroid nasal sprays like beconase or pirineze.

good luck!

I went to my gp to discuss this as I get horrendous hayfever also.
I was basically told that although the details for the drugs say "not proven safe to take during pregnancy" doesn't necessarily mean that they are unsafe, it can just mean that they've never been tested on pregnant women due to ethical reasons.
I got my usual prescription following that discussion. I felt I was suffering enough in pregnancy without adding an additional layer of misery in the form of hayfever.

I use one of these and have done for the last few years, meaning I've been medication free. It doesn't eliminate 100% of my symptoms at the worst time of year for me, but it personally more effective than antihistamines ever were.

It's best used before symptoms kicks in and regularly every day until the season is over. If you're nose id already inflamed, it can take a bit of time for things to calm down.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0049GZ3LW/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1492287994&sr=8-2&keywords=red+light+allergy&tag=mumsnetforum-21

Btw, with your cough - have you been checked for asthma? I used to cough all night and ignored it for years, finally a GP spotted it and diagnosed allergy related asthma. I only get it with my hayfever so only use inhalers April - September.

I started off on a blue reliever, but now need a steroid inhaler AM and PM to keep it under control. I'm soooooo much better now.

You should get checked. Being pregnant, it's very important you can breathe properly. My GP gave me a very stern warning that I must be 100% on top of my hayfever asthma this year. The steroid inhaler is safe in pregnancy, particularly as it's a tiny dose which doesn't really get into your blood stream from your lungs.

Nothing but ventolin when pregnant is a lie. Many peoples asthma gets worse when pregnant and asthma is life threatening when left untreated. It is a balancing act of meds, if you are struggling with asthma and your gp says no treatment please go and see a specialist asthma nurse or respiratory consultant.

100% agree with giraffe. I'm on Clenil daily (which controls my asthma well so I rarely need my Ventolin). I asked my GP if it was safe in pregnancy and he was emphatic I should be using it. Risk from an asthma attack is far more dangerous to mother and baby than from asthma meds.

Prevalin helps. Discovered it while pregnant as it's very safe.

Yes agree about the asthma. I'm asthmatic and was told it's very important to take my regular preventer inhalers and keep on top of my asthma. I also switched from my regular antihistamine to loratadine at my choice.

I agree with previous suggestion of local honey, it's really helped me in both pregnancies. It's delicious too! :-)

As it happens, I'm taking clenil now prescribed by the antenatal asthma nurse after my low use of ventolin was getting out of control, but that wasn't hay fever related (I don't think).

I'm going to speak to the midwife tomorrow as this is killing me. I now have practically no voice (my hay fever causes a bronchial allergy) and i can't stop coughing.

You poor thing. It may be that you'll need a GP appointment, but perhaps the midwife will be able to help.

A thick smear of lanolin around inside of nostrils is amazingly effective, but you need fairly regular application.

I doubt the midwife will be able to help with this. Please see your GP and ask for an asthma check while your there.

I called my GP when I was newly BF post baby and was suffering with my hayfever. He prescribed ceterizine over the phone and I could pick it up that afternoon. Could you get a telephone appointment with your GP or call your MW ahead of your appointment? There's no point in waiting if you're suffering.

I'm allergic to dust mites so have to take antihistamines year-round. When I got pregnant with DS I checked with my GP if I could continue and was told it was fine to carry on with cetirizine throughout pregnancy. I kept taking them and DS doesn't seem any the worse for it! The GP did say if I was worried I could stick to the nasal sprays as their effects are a bit more localised. Basically the warnings on many medicines are simply because no one can do the necessary randomised tests on pregnant woman just in case, but as my GP said, pregnant women have been taking antihistamines in large numbers and for a reasonably long time so if there was a problem we'd know about it by now!