Managing Hayfever

Pollen levels are currently high/very high and during these times it is often difficult to achieve satisfactory control of hay fever symptoms. The mainstay of treatment for hay fever is a combination of oral antihistamine, steroid nasal spray and anti-allergy eye drops. These are all items available from your community pharmacy and other retailers.

As such, NHS England ask us not to prescribe these products for the treatment of hay fever.

Finding the right treatment for you is often trial and error. Please use the below to consider changing to an alternative product to what you are currently using. Allow at least two weeks to assess how effective the change in treatment has been. Evidence suggests that there is no antihistamine better than another, the effectiveness varies from person to person.

Oral antihistamimes – loratadine, cetirizine, fexofenadine, acrivastine, chlorphenamine
Steroid nasal sprays (over 18s) – beclometasone, fluticasone
Anti-allergy eye drops – sodium cromoglicate

You should also try to stay indoors with windows and doors closed where possible, wash your hands and face when coming in from the outside and consider changing clothes. You can also use barrier products like Vaseline around your nose to block the pollen. Other products like sinus rinses and washes can also be helpful. Further information can be found here – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hay-fever/

If after trying the above for at least two weeks, your symptoms have not resolved, please contact us again.