Hay fever

[hoppyfarmer]

Hi ladies, I am 8 weeks pregnant and suffering with hay fever. Every morning I wake up with a sore throat and a very stuffy head full of clear snot. My eyes are quite itchy and I am sneezing for Britain. Does anyone have any tips on how to relieve these symptoms or know of anything safe to use in pregnancy please? I have got my booking appointment next week so I will ask my midwife too. Thank you.

I found this helpful - www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/935.aspx?categoryid=54

I just take the usual one-a-day tablets when my hayfever is bad. Usually before bed as mine is worse in the morning too.

Hayfever for first time too but not allowed anything until I see consultant.
Try menthol crystals in hot water with towel over head but I've developed a sinus issue with mine so check with doctor if that happens

You can use the steroid nasal sprays (Beconase/Pirinase or generic equivalents) and eye drops (anything with sodium cromoglicate) safely in pregnancy. They are available OTC but you may need a prescription when pregnant.

I spoke to my GP about it and he said that advice is to not take anything if it can be avoided given there's no real evidence either way about safety or otherwise of taking stuff during pregnancy. However he advised that if I was really struggling, the likelihood is that it would be fine to take an anti-histamene as I normally would pre-pregnancy. I asked if the nasal sprays would be better than a systemic tablet but he said not necessarily as they contain an active steroid anyway so there's no evidence that would be any less harmful, and the nasal sprays don't tend to alleviate symptoms like a sore throat and itchy eyes etc which I also get. I generally have only mild hayfever though and have managed so far not to take anything for it. I would discuss with GP first though - I tried to talk to the pharmacist about it first and they just redirected me to the GP.

I've been taking my Loratadine 10mg hayfever tablets everyday still.

Loratadine is the first antihistamine they recommend.

I had a bit of a struggle getting the GP to prescribe anything other than steroid spray, but after having a sneezing fit all over their desk, they decided to prescribe my usual medications - Fexofenadine and chlorphenamine on top of the spray.

I also got a tutorial on using the nasal sprays properly and that has really helped.

My mum got me something organic called HayMax, it's a bit like Vaseline that you put round your nose and eye sockets, it states fine for pregnant women, children etc. It helps a little but I can't pretend it's a cure.

Nettle supplements. Sounds woo but saved my sanity last summer. Get them in Holland and Barrett and take max dose.

Thank you everybody x