• Question: What is the most effective way to get rid of hayfever?

    Asked by georgiechiko to Ruth, PB, Paul, Lyn, Katy on 24 Jun 2013. This question was also asked by somerlilyblakey.
    • Photo: Ee Lyn Lim

      Ee Lyn Lim answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      There are a few ways to treat hay fever – some are effective immediately, but only for a short while, whereas some take more time to be effective, but can possibly cure you permanently!

      Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen in the air, so one way to stop having hay fever is to avoid breathing pollen! Unfortunately that means staying indoors all the time during spring and summer, and nobody wants to do that. There are antihistamines and corticosteroid medicines that you can take to stop the inflammation – so your body still acts up against the pollen, but the meds cancel out the effects of the allergy (runny nose, sneezing etc.). Many of these meds are available to buy at the pharmacy.

      To get rid of hay fever completely, there is a kind of therapy where you are given a little bit of pollen at a time, so that your body builds up tolerance to it and stops being allergic. This is a lot like the stuff that Ruth is doing, so maybe she can tell you more about it! People also do this for allergies to bee stings and nuts. But this sort of treatment could take a long time to work – months or years! You might also be allergic to more than one kind of pollen, so that’s a lot of hard work…most people who choose this treatment have very serious hay fever, which affects their ability to go to school or work.

    • Photo: Katy Brown

      Katy Brown answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      I’m not answering this as a scientist but as an experienced hayfever sufferer! I would say put vaseline around your nose and take one non-drowsy hayfever tablet first thing in the morning on days where you’ll be outside a lot.
      Also, these guys – http://www.worcester.ac.uk/discover/pollen-forecast.html – keep track of what type of pollen is around each week. If you have an especially bad few hayfever days, you can have a look and see which type of pollen is especially high, and that is probably what you are allergic to. Then you can check ahead and take hayfever tablets ready for bad days.

    • Photo: Peter Balfe

      Peter Balfe answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      Lyn’s right on the money with this one. Allergies are pretty variable, some hayfever years are better than others for people. Also as we age our immune system changes, which is why many (not all) childhood allergies diminish with adulthood.

    • Photo: Paul Waines

      Paul Waines answered on 25 Jun 2013:

      As a sufferer, I am finding this year quite tough, although living by the sea helps.

      I dont think hay fever is curable, but it can certainly be eased- Katy’s ‘vaseline round the nose’ idea is a good one which I’ll try. In my experinece, it varies from year to year and I am sure that I am gradually growing out of it, as happens with many allergies.

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