Hay Fever - surely there is something I can take??

[betsycoe]

Just got back from the chemist as I am suffering with bad hay fever (runny nose, sore throat, headache, itchy eyes - the lot!).

She said that no medications are safe to take (including nasal spays) and suggested washing my nose with salt water! or taking local honey (which is useless as you need to build up resistance over a few months).

Surely there is something I can take? Anyone got any tips?

Someone suggesting putting vasaline up your nose (just inside the nostrils) as it helps to catch the pollen before it gets up there. I have to say I don't fancy this but if it helps...

I suffer badly with hayfever too and i'm 20 wks. I spoke to my gp who said i couldn't take a long acting antihistimine but beconase type nasal sprays and aqueous eye drops are fine. He said to see how i got on with these and if i need something else then he'd look at some of the shorter acting antihistimines such as clarytin. Don't do anything without GP approval but maybe phone and see if a particular gp is more open to medication in pregnancy than others.

When i was pregnant with my ds i suffered because i thought i couldn't take anything - when i spoke to my gp when i was breast feeding he said there were several things that i could have tried - he thinks too many gp's are over sensitive about medication in pregnancy as there are many drugs which are perfectly safe.

honey made by bees in your area!

I am a bad hayfever sufferer also but all the info I've read warns against taking any medication for this during pregnancy...

I have total sympathy for you as it just makes you so miserable.

Do you have long hair? I have to wash my hair everyday (preferably at the end of the day) during peak pollen season, as the pollen gets into my hair and makes the condition worse. I'd also recommend wearing shades first thing in the morning and in the evening if you're out (helps with the itchy eyes), as well as keeping the windows in the house closed. Optrex soothing eye pads are great in the evening for itchy eyes, or you can buy one of these gel eye pads which you pop in the fridge (or good old-fashioned cucumber slices from the fridge!!)

Make sure you drink loads of water too - I find when my nose is constantly streaming with hayfever I get bad headaches from loss of fluids.

Hot water with lemon and honey can help with a sore throat too.

Wouldn't it be great if we could keep popping the daily tablets during pg for hayfever...!

(Certainly don't fancy the salt water up the nose tip!!!!)

betsycoe, go to your GP. I have had two different practices in my time and both were happy to prescribe beconase for me in pregnancy.
When the chemist means "not safe" he/she means "not tested on pregnant volunteers, so not PROVEN safe".
My GP was very reassuring that beconase and other nasal sprays are safe in pregnancy, even if not tested.

My GP prescribed beconase nasal spray too. Topical treatments like sprays and ointments aren't as risky because they don't enter your blood stream and cross over to the baby, unlike tablets. He also prescribed hydrocortisone cream for rashes.

I'd see your GP, I think pharmacists are over-cautious because they aren't protected by law or something.

I had very bad hay fever in April and ended up taking a vacation into the snow of Canada, which fixed everything in 2days. Seriously, if you only suffer for a week or two, maybe you could take a short vacation to the seaside or similiar.

I was told by my consultant that Piriton is safe to take during pregnancy. However pharmacists will not sell it over the counter if they know that it is for a pregnant woman (though they will happily dispense it to you if you can get your gp to prescribe it). I ended up getting dh and friends to buy it for me.

After the baby is born (if you breastfeed) you have to switch to a different antihistamine - Loratidine is fine - and go through the same subterfuge to get it.

I took Piriton from about 20 weeks pregnant and it was a fricking LIFESAVER, although being a first-generation antihistamine you might find it makes you drowsy (it didn't me, however). Get your GP to give you a prescription.

Yes I am using Piriton too at 24 weeks. It is fine, it is the new non-drowsy ones you can't take because they haven't been on the market long enough to know if there are any effects on unborn child. I used piriton when breastfeeding too, on prescription. It makes me really drowsy (drowsier!!) though so I have been taking it before bed each night instead of morning.

Thanks everyone, I love the idea of visiting Canada for a few weeks (but I don't think my husband would be impressed if I spent our baby savings on a trip!) I suppose I will just have to wait a while to test this one out!!

Hi, I've just been to Boots to buy some hayfever remedies (I'm definitely not pregnant, though). You cannot take Loratadine or Cetrizine Dihydrochloride - Boots are selling these as own brand hayfever relief remedies. You can use Opticrom eye drops (instructions say that you should always consult your doctor) and you can also use Beconase spray. I've used the eye drops and spray for several years since an effective tablet was taken off the market and I find them pretty good.

Lilymaid, were you on Triludan too? I was so angry about that
I find Zirtek is quite good...

i have awful HF too, went to gp and got prescribed beconase and daily tablets; they were fab, he checked the drugs book wile i was there and was happy for me to have them, and i was overjoyed to take them as i had suffered so long without meds.

when non pg clarytin worked great, with beconase spray.

go see gp and stop suffering! dd was born 100% healthy

Yep I was on Triludan and it worked pretty well, then it was withdrawn (can't remember why). The only good news is that when I hit 40 my hayfever became less extreme and can now be controlled most of the time by the nasal spray and eye drops. I live in oil seed rape/barley rich East Anglia and work in London (I have a particular allergy to tree pollen which is terrible in London)and my summer is no longer ruined by a runny, itchy nose, uncontrollable sneezing, irritated chest, eyes that look as though they have conjunctivitis and itchy inner ears!

Apparently Triludan could cause heart problems - it even reacted with things like fruit juice in some people. I think grapefruit juice was the one it reacted worst with.

Interesting that Beconase is now OK as I stopped taking mine as soon as found out I qas pg - last time round, doctor said I could only take Piriton. Will be back on the Beconase soon then!

I'm 29 weeks pregnant, if the doctor hadn't given me something then by the time this baby arrives I'd have been a single Mum. I'm normally so calm, but hayfever makes me obnoxious.

My doctor has given me Fluticasone nasal spray, and so far it's working. I've also got opticrom eye drops which I haven't started using yet, I was hoping I wouldn't need to but my eyes are bad today so think I'd best start.

The doctor was great, she was a student, and I was obviously the first pregnant hayfever sufferer she'd had to treat so she asked me to wait a day for my prescription so she could make totally sure she gave me the right thing. She knew piriton and beconase were safe, but I've had those in the past and they didn't seem to work for me.

Good luck, if what you get prescribed doesn't work go back and ask for an alternative.

Would you be happy to see a homeopath? Homeopathy is perfectly safe in pregnancy and really helped my hayfever.

And, no, I do not wear hemp knickers or braid my underarm hair .

OK, have been taking a homeopathic remedy (Pollena) for 3 weeks and from yesterday, I'm as ill as if I'd taken nothing! Usually I get worse from this time of the year onwards, so it's not promising. The pharmacist went through his book and said Beconase was OK (it's not stopping it but it's making it less miserable), but that some women with bad morning sickness are given anti-histamines, so if I'm not too fussed about risk (his words!) I could go ahead and take that.

Pharmacist cannot recommend any medicines that have any cautions about pregnancy , GPs can prescribe them as long as they make you aware of any potential risks , there are few risks with things like beconase and piriton but really I would go back and talk to your gp and if you don't get any joy why not try one of the other GPs.
I know it is really miserable - I have to say I did not take much apart from beconase which alone doesn't do much for me and eye drops as I did not feel 100% happy about antihists in pregnancy but I have lots of friends including GPs who took then in pregnancy with no problems. The most important thing is that you feel happy to take whatever medication you opt for as there is no point taking something you feel unhappy with.
Triludan has been replaced with a drug called fexofenadine which is prescription only - I think it is really good but alas not for use in pregnancy.
Hope the pollen count goes down!!

I have exactly the same problem - I asked my obstetrician about this and he said that eye drops (Opticrom) and nasal spray (Flexonase was the one he recommended) are absolutely fine. He said there was no evidence at all of any risk with these. Having said that, these things aren't tested on pg women, as it would be unethical!

I have gone ahead and used them and thank goodness, frankly.

Feeling much better now. Beconase nasal spray is a God send!