Desloratadine

Hay Fever

Hay fever is a common allergic reaction, occurring throughout the year but particularly worse during the months of March to September. It appears as a reaction to warmer, humid or windy weather when pollen counts are high from grass, trees and weeds.

Symptoms of hay fever include:

sneezing and coughing
a runny or blocked nose
itchy, red or watery eyes
itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears
loss of smell
pain around your temples and forehead
headache
earache
feeling tired

If you have asthma, you might also experience:

a tight feeling in your chest
shortness of breath
wheezing and coughing

Whilst Hay fever shares some symptoms of a cold, it can last a lot longer, for weeks or months.

How to treat hay fever yourself
There is at present no cure for hay fever and no way to prevent from suffering with it however there are things you can do to help alleviate your symptoms when pollen counts are high

These include:

putting Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen
wearing wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting into your eyes
showering and changing your clothes after you’ve been outside to wash pollen off
staying indoors whenever possible
keeping windows and doors shut as much as possible
vacuuming regularly and dusting with a damp cloth
buying a pollen filter for the air vents in your car and a vacuum cleaner with a special HEPA filter

Things to avoid:

cut grass or walk on grass
spending too much time outside
keeping fresh flowers in the house
smoking or being around smoke – This will make your symptoms worse
drying clothes outside – they can catch pollen this way
letting pets into the house if possible – they can carry the pollen indoors.