How to Survive the Hayfever Season?

Although the summer brings heaps of (expected) sunshine, summer is also the start of the hayfever season. While throngs of people are outside basking in the sun there are others bent double with watery eyes and stuffy noses. Here at Stratus Healthcare we have a few remedies and tips to help you enjoy the summer.

• Medication – When our body recognises an allergen, in this case pollen, it releases histamines which start the inflammation response hayfever sufferers know so well, stuffy nose and watery/itchy eyes. Our body does this to try and get rid of the allergen as quickly as possible.
  • Our body’s overreaction causes these symptoms, therefore, we need an antihistamine. There are a wide variety of antihistamines such as Cetrine, Clarityn and Piriton to name a few. It’s up to you to find the one that works best for you.
  • Like antihistamine tablets there are a lot of hayfever eye drops. All work in the same way to rinse out your eye of any pollen. We recommend Optrex’s Soothing Eye Drops, Otrivine’s Antistin Eye Drops and Artelac Eye Drops as they work the best for us.
  • As regards nasal sprays there are plenty to choose from. NeilMed’s Sinus Rinse is a very effective way to clear your sinuses, but it does take some getting used to. Prevalin’s Allergy Sprays are an alternative that is also very effective.
• Remedies – if you’re experiencing hayfever symptoms try some of these solutions to reduce them:
  • Have a shower as it can wash all pollen off your body.
  • Get a damp cloth and place it across your two eyes while lying horizontal.
  • If you have a stuffy/blocked nose fill a bowl with hot water and put 2 or 3 drops of Olbas Oil into it. Place a towel over your head and breathe in the vapours.
• Tips:
  • Never hang your clothes outside to dry. Use a clothes horse or a dryer as the pollen can collect on your clothes and worsen your hayfever.
  • Check your local pollen count.
  • Keep pets out of the bedroom and off the furniture as they may have pollen on them from being outside
  • Wash your bed sheets regularly to reduce hayfever.
  • Don’t cut the grass or walk on grass for long periods of time.
  • Wear wraparound sunglasses to prevent pollen from coming in contact with your eyes.
  • Put Vaseline around your nostrils to trap the pollen.

Hopefully these remedies and tips help you conquer the summer season. For more information on hayfever and how to protect yourself from pollen use our PharmaChat service to talk to a qualified pharmacist or call in to us.