Hello,

How are you all managing your hayfever this year – it has turned me into a mouth breather and that’s with taking benadryl/sudafed decongestant like sweets.

I do suffer from stuffy sinuses year round and have never quite figured out – I’ve cut dairy and played with food combos, but not quite nailed it.

For those who have read the James Nestor book on breathing – would it offer me any suggestions to try?

Thanks.
Londoner

Interested in answers. I’m similar to you all year round with sinus, dust, sprays, stuffy places and cats allergies, thankfully hayfever isn’t generally an issue for some reason. But anti-histamines just turn me into a zombie so avoid them unless I’m really bad.

Sea swimming seems to help soothe things, as does a good bike ride with plenty of snot rockets (my super power!), and generally cooler outside air (but I don’t get much in the way of hayfever), any time cooped up inside and inactive makes them start getting bad.

Oh,just remembered in the past I used to run the cold water and basically snort it up my nose and blow it out in the sink, gross, but it did help. Seems to be the cold that helps me, neti pot things have never really helped, don’t know why.

Steroid nose sprays work well for me. On the odd bad day I top up with raw white onion. Eaten, not up the nose. Also works well.

Raw white onion?! Eaten as an apple?! Seriously??

I’ve used steroid sprays over the years, but it only takes a few days before my nose gets sore

@Yak – interesting. Assume the sprays are prescription only? ANy side effects?

Raw onion – mental.

Listening with interest also. In 2017 I flew to China and en route got what seemed like a streaming cold, which lasted 2 weeks, with my nose alternately pouring liquid or blocked solid. Since then I’ve had intermittent returns of the same, but constantly snotty and with massive headaches when I sneeze etc. Steroid spray dries it out but the headaches remain. Also use saline spray as a more convenient alternative to swimming. I actually have an appointment at ENT next week – until now they’ve been busy with some kind of pandemic. Keen to see if they have any suggestions!!

I start cetirizene about Late April/May, and 1 a day normally keeps it under control for me, with the occasional snort of a steriod if I need it on bad days. The key for me is take the pills regularly and don’t skip a day.

Prescription antihistamines for me are the only ones that remotely work.

Also started using a sinus rinse kit at night which has massively helped with breathing through the night

I take Loratidine tablets for most of the year and take more than one a day if I need to. No side effects from those. Not sure what’s in the spray I have but it’s one you can buy off the shelf and helps if the tablets aren’t, but does give me a headache.

I bought an air purifier a few weeks ago. I was a little sceptical at first and thought it might just be placebo but I’ve had minimal hayfever symptoms since. Will see if that holds up later in the summer when it’s usually worse for me.

Spray – I use over the counter beconase.
Onion – yeah, if you are up to it go at it like an apple. Speed is your friend. Have some cheese to hand if you need some relief. But I have never done a whole onion. 1/4 to 1/2 will do it and then you are good for the whole day.

Are you sure it’s not diesel pollution, you say “Londoner”? Big cities turn my nose into a dripping tap for a day or so then I get bunged up. The better the weather the worse it is.

Ent referral so they can get a good look right up there

For me:
Sinus rinse kits – really effective
Anti histamines – the prescription ones help a little
Over the counter sprays don’t work long term
Steroid drops work mostly (prescription)
prednisolone maybe once a year

This year’s been particularly bad, off to see ent in a couple of weeks

Beconase spray and Telfast antihistamines for me. The doc advised me take them year round about 4 years ago due to me getting repeated chest infections. Apart from a bout of COVID, not had a cold since and my hay-fever is super mild.

Nasal congestion could indicate an infected tooth.

Try Fexofenadine.

Available over the counter now, not cheap but works for me much better than the others also with less of the horrible side effects

@reluctantlondoner – for the sake of a few quid it’s well worth reading Breath. The author basically had the same issues as you, hence his “journey.”

I’ve never had respiratory issues at all and I found it fascinating regardless.

Speed is your friend.

I’m not sure you should try that though.

sudafed blocked nose nasal spray is the only way i can breathe through my nose most of the time.

given i can now get this in my local coop and tesco express i`m not the only one.

i keep thinking i should have snorted more coke at uni to cauterize my nostrils – but it was expensive.

swimming doesnt help – staying i my camper does suprisingly. probably becausse of much less house dust n cats. however i temper this improvement with more beer which generally makes me bunged up again.

First up – Sudafed shouldn’t be taken long term – it causes rebound congestion after a few days – that is, the stuffiness comes back and nothing will shift it. Also raises your blood pressure and will tend to spoil your sleep. Can take a week or more to settle after stopping them once the rebound has kicked in.

As you suffer a bit year round, there’s a fair chance you’ve got a dose of background allergies – such as dust mite (not actually an allergy to the mites, but to their droppings… don’t think about it too hard 😉 ). I usually say allergies are like pouring water into a bottle – one type adds some, another some more, and you can go along with no problems until something adds the last few drops that send you overflowing. So we want to reduce how much of each is going into that bottle, so to speak.

One of the keys to getting it under control – particularly hayfever and dust mites – is to make a room that’s pretty allergen free… and it’s best if that’s your bedroom.
Swap to hard surfaces where you can – blinds are better than curtains, laminate better than carpet. Treat the whole room especially any soft furnishings with Actomite or similar to kill the little blighters off. Hoover and boil wash everything you can. Consider a new mattress if it’s getting that way already. Never make your bed up in the morning, it gives them somewhere nice and warm to live… strip it right back if you can and cool them out.
That deals with the mites etc. Next is pollen and others. Keep the door and windows shut as much as possible to keep stuff out. Keep pets out of that room. Buy an ioniser and if you can afford it, a HEPA fan/filter. The ioniser clumps stuff up and then the filter removes it.
And importantly: wash your hair (and the same for your partner if you’re sharing 😉 ) before bed. Otherwise you’ll undo all that good work as the pollen comes out of your hair and sits in a little cloud around your face as you move in your sleep at night.

Hopefully if you can follow some/most of this, you’ll keep the level in your allergy bottle low enough that you stop overflowing 🙂

Otherwise, there are several different steroid sprays available on script so if you didn’t get one that suits you the first time, ask your GP for an alternative. Also, the eyes drain into the nose, so a stuffy nose can actually be due to irritated eyes (whether you know it or not); sodium cromoglycate eye drops can really help (also some of the drug will drain into the nose and have a protective effect there, too, so the exact mode of action is not 100% clear).

Or if you live in Wales, come and talk to your friendly local community pharmacist and we can sort you out for free on the Common Ailments Scheme 🙂

Thanks all – some great recommendations and thoughts.

Particular thanks – I think – to @Reeksy for the words on Breath by Nestor – have now read it, been fascinated, and seem poised to go deep down the breathwork rabbit hole.

I find nasocourt steroid spray works for me. It’s prescription in the big bottles but the small ones can be had in the pharmacist although you’ll need to ask. Ours orders some in for me. Use it due to hay fever which keeps my nose blocked if I don’t use something and it’s better than banging lots of Sudafed up your nose. It needs taking daily for a while then I forget I need it and then use it again whilst the wrong pollen is about.

Just had appt at ENT – was prescribed antibiotics (again) and steroid nose drops (Flixonase 2x a day for 6 weeks). Also had CT scan. Interested to see what that reveals. My biggest problem isn’t the congestion, it’s the nega headaches every time I cough or sneeze.

Loratadine tablet every day along with Avamys nasal spray.

Avamys

Is the dogs bllcks 🙂

You could well have a tree pollen allergy may be worth getting the allergy test done then you’ll be able to get Avamys on prescription.

Trees tend to pollenate at all different times of the year so you can end up with hayfever symptoms longer.

So I’ve been prescribed as having non allergic rhinitis and it was like I had a cold all the time.

I don’t suffer from hayfever but take things that would help it, I have Avamys prescribed by the doctor which is a steroid spray and just recently allevia has been made available in chemists without prescription and keeps me on the level, it’s fexofenadine and seems to keep my throat clear and the spray just keeps me breathing normally.

Hopefully this helps

I had a CT scan on my sinuses/ head a number of years ago, due to similar symptoms to the OP. ENT Dr advised “whatever it is that you’ve got, go back to your GP, I can’t help”.

Over the counter nasal sprays, as and when required are the long term solution for me I’m afraid.