Hay Fever

[Blaze]

It's that time of year again, and it's hit people round here with a vengeance, including us. Chief culprits are silver birches and colza (oil seed rape) which has been planted hugely round here.

According to Evelyn Dhéliat on TF1 Météo, the lack of rain has caused plants to shed more pollen thus increasing dust in the air. I've always been suspicious of flowers like colza as they are well-sprayed. Brittany is one of the most polluted areas in France with seemingly an ever-increasing amount of chemicals being poured into the ground ....

According to the pharmacists I've spoken to, this year few people are complaining of sneezing and a running nose, but dry, sore throats and thick mucus and coughing. Antihistamines like Loratadine do help relieve the symptoms, along with paracetamol and a dry cough linctus.

Like many people, hay fever is something that's hit us in the last 10 years - neither of us had ever had it in our lives before then.

[niemeyjt]

My trigger is grass - so later in the season. Mine started after Uni when I was working outdoors - and exposed to high levels of grass pollen - so maybe that is why others get it later in life?

But I stock up with Cetirizine from Tesco / Sainsbury - the same price for 16 tablets as just 1 here.

[Char]

I get it all year round, rain doesn't seem to make any difference, I take Bilastine which seems to work better than the over the counter stuff doesn't completely alleviate the symptoms though, I also have a prescribed nose spray, but try to limit the use of it cos it makes my nose sore after a while - I used to take Levocetirizine but it made me drowsy all the time, and didn't work as well.

I think mine started back in the UK when I was a scout leader - we were playing wide games in the woods running through wide garlic in flower, and I think I got an overdose of pollen which gave me my first ever migraine.

[Blaze]

I wear a mask in the garden at the moment which seems to help - I think it was Char that mentioned that a year or so ago. Good advice !
I've also found that Cetrizine makes me drowsy but Loratadine is fine. It's a question of finding which works best for you.
We're off to Jersey shortly so will stock up !

[MAD87]

I first got hay fever as a teenager in London and then had a very long period as an adult without it. Then one day about 30 years ago it came back in Limoges. I've had it every year since.
I used to take Coryzalia but its effect seems to have worn off. The only solution is to go to the chemist and ask for a homeopathic cocktail to kill it. Street planting may well be the problem - there are ornamental cherry trees each side of Main Street where we live.

[Blaze]

@MAD87 I read recently that the Japanese were having huge problems with hay fever and this is the time of yezar when they have beautiful displays of ornamental cherry trees.
I love this time of year and would rather put up with hay fever than not see all the beautiful flowers .... and they're very important for bees and other insects !

[Quiksilver]

A friend back in UK developed hay fever in her 50s but sagely told me that it's 'not an old person's allergy'. Her experience and that of my husband seem to bear this out. They both developed it out of the blue in their 50s and it disappeared just as suddenly before they were 70.
The dusting of pollen over everything was really remarkable here last week, but no colza grown locally and we're quite a way from any birch plantations