I’m not a medical professional but I have suffered with hayfever since I was 8 years old. It probably would’ve been younger if I hadn’t lived in a desert for seven years. I thought it might be useful to provide a roundup of hints and tips that I’ve learnt over the years, some help me, some don’t. Perhaps there’ll be something on the list that you hadn’t thought about doing before. If you’ve got any other suggestions let me know and I’ll add them on.
This might be especially useful for those people who work
outdoors. I have an outdoors job, am an allotmenteer, a gardener, and an ex-park
ranger who was responsible for meadow surveying and management. I chose my
career and hobbies well.
My hayfever typically starts in February and ends around November. I have had years where I've medicated for all 12 months with triple dose meds, but other people I know only medicate for June to August. I hate those people (I jest).
1.
Vaseline
Every morning, wash your face, put eye drops in, and then
wipe some Vaseline around your lips, nostrils, and eyes. You don’t want loads
on your eyes (it’ll stick them shut), but enough to catch any airborne dust or
pollen. The idea is to trap the pollen before it gets into your face.
You could also get a clean mascara brush and apply Vaseline to
your eyelashes only. It also (apparently) strengthens them, so win win.
Downside: you end up a greasy smeary mess
Upside: it works
Pro-tip: buy a huge tub of cheapo Vaseline from Poundland
and use it to refill your smaller tins
2.
Eyedrops
Eyedrops are the best thing I use for hayfever, I use them
all year round as I get dry eyes. I use Optrex for Hayfever.
3.
Wash your eyes
Use a clean flannel or a wad of toilet roll folded up. Soak with
cold water, squeeze out the excess, tilt your head to the side, and then hold
the wad to the outer edge of your eye. Gently squeeze to get a drop of water
into your eye and let it run across your eye. Keep blinking. Do this a couple
of times and it’ll clean your eye. And then reapply eye drops.
Or, cup your hand, fill it with cold water, put your face down to your hand, put your eye into the water and blink blink blink blink blink.
4.
Wash your face
When I’m getting very hayfever-y and bunged up, washing my
face helps enormously. Sometimes in the height of summer I wash my face a few
times during the day. Soap, warm water, wash, pat dry, reapply eyedrops and Vaseline.
5.
Wash your hands
Especially if you’ve been in the garden. Pollen etc can
easily get trapped under your nails, and then you rub your eyes or nose, and
voila, pollen all up in that joint.
6.
Don’t hang things outside to dry
This one is difficult because summer is the perfect time to
hang things outside to dry, especially with the cost of energy etc rising like
the clappers. However – putting something damp outside in a pollen rich
environment is STUPID. All of that pollen is just going to cling to your damp
thing, and then dry on it, and then you get into bed with a duvet covered in pollen.
I did just that last night and it’s one of those things – I need to drastically
reduce my energy bill and the sun is free, but I also get awful hayfever. I know I shouldn't dry anything outdoors, but I also know that I pay the bills and well, something's gotta give.
Change your bedding and clean it every few days to remove the pollen.
7.
Upgrade to silk for the summer
I haven’t read too much about it but it’s something I’ve
heard a lot of – silk pillowcases can help reduce allergens and reactions. So maybe
invest in silk pillowcases for the summer.
8.
Shower and/or wash hair daily
Wash that pollen off!
9.
Carry lots of tissues
I buy mine in a jumbo pack from Bodycare for 89p. Ten packs
of tissues, and I have several packs in my handbag/work bag/site bag/car.
10.
Alcohol
Alcohol can make hayfever worse. Drink less. You should probably
drink less anyway. Click here to read more.
11.
Oral Pollen Allergy Syndrome
Look it up! Or click this link here. Basically, pollen
contains protein and certain fruits are similar, so when I eat an apple, my
body thinks I am ingesting birch pollen and gives me a hayfever reaction. In really
extreme cases this can cause anaphylaxis. Seriously, google it. For me
personally, the benefit of eating an apple a day outweighs the minor reaction I
have, but for some people it could mean not eating an apple ever again.
12.
Medicate!
But be careful and see a GP first. You can buy hayfever meds
over the counter but for the stronger stuff you’ll need a prescription. Also, I
think fexofenadine can now be bought over the counter but it might be cheaper
to get it on prescription. I can only take certain meds due to my other medication
for other things, so be aware that hayfever meds can interfere with other
things. If you’re really drowsy and you take meds, consider what else you take
and get medical advice.
13.
Hayband
Get a hayband. I love mine. LOVE IT. Except the tan lines
but that’s a different story. Mine came from eBay for about £4.99, I wear it on
my elbow. It ‘works’ by using acupressure to relieve my symptoms. I have been
wearing it daily since August 2021 and I haven’t taken medication since then
either. I have been struggling a bit lately but then I have been out surveying
meadows and grassland with work. The stopping medication is minor miracle for
me as I am usually on prescription only drugs that aren’t actually tested for
use against hayfever.
14.
Get your pollen filter in your car checked
Get it changed with every service!
15.
Drive with the windows shut
Self-explanatory, but it stops pollen coming in.
16.
Use recycled inside air
Switch the thingy so you don’t have external air coming in
while the windows are closed. Recycle that inside air and reduce the pollen.
17.
Nasal spray
Learn how to use nasal sprays properly and they can be
effective. I personally don’t use them as I don’t think they make much
difference for me.
18.
Clear your nostrils
A bowl of hot water with menthol thingies in, put a towel
over your head and the bowl and inhale. Or cut some mint and hang it from the
showerhead to release the minty freshness into the water and steam of the
shower.
19.
Honey
Please don’t suggest honey as soon as someone says they have
hayfever. Honey makes me INCREDIBLY ill incredibly quickly. I do not like it,
it does not like me.
However, if it works for you, great! It's not something I use but my understanding is that taking a spoon of local honey before your hayfever season starts can help to reduce your allergy as you've built up some tolerance to local pollen.
20.
Wear sunglasses
I have photosensitivity which means looking at the sun makes
me sneeze. When I’m driving, the reactions things on my glasses don’t activate
(because they don’t activate under glass as glass blocks UV), so when I drive I
have to wear a pair of sunnies. This reduces or stops the sneezing, which stops
my eyes shutting and stops my nose bunging up.
You could also try wearing wraparound style sunglasses to
reduce pollen getting to your eyes.
21.
Maybe don’t work in the outdoor sector
Ha! Never going to happen. For me, being outdoors massively benefits
my mental health and decreases my anxiety. Being outside is the only place
where my tinnitus isn’t noticeable. I am not an indoorsy person.
I hope some of these help. I tend to use a few in conjunction
for example, hayband, eyedrops, washing my face and rinsing my eyes during the
day, internal air and windows shut on the car.
Happy summer!
