Seasonal cold… Or hayfever?

Just realised, after a few years of seemingly getting a cold round about this time, that is probably hayfever – which I’ve obstinately denied before now. Snot, tired, watering eyes – sounds about right?

What drugs do I need to return energy levels primarily?

Same here, usually catches me unawares although this year it was obvious. Personally I don’t bother with drugs, I find a change in weather makes a big difference, especially windy days or wet, so I find symptoms short lived. That or go to the coast or mountains

Yep, sounds bang on to me.

apparently you can develop hayfever in later life. It can come and go in 10+ year cycles.

there’s lots of drugs to try, some will make you drowsy but work, some will make you drowsy but not work, some will be perfect. So try a few and find your match. No need to spend on branded drugs, the cheap supermarket own ones are the same.

current winner for me is cetirizene hydrochloride. Mostly nicked off my wife who is a perennial hayfever sufferer, unlike me who’s just noticed it the last few years.
she swears you gotta get the tablet in you before hayfever symptoms kick in for the day, or else it’s too late.

Cetirizine hydrochloride +1

Take a 1-a-day table before bed and that’s me sorted for the next day.

Get a pack from a supermarket or a local pharmacy.

(If I don’t I wake at 3am with a streaming nose and feel rubbish as I sneeze my way through the morning)

Beconase is the stuff for this, IME.  From mid-April to mid-June – one sniff in each nostril a day.  Takes a few days to get going, so you might need some one a day loratidine or cetirizine in the meantime.

I start taking antihistamines in February until June as I’m allergic to tree and grass pollen. Just find one that doesn’t make you drowsy.

she swears you gotta get the tablet in you before hayfever symptoms kick in for the day, or else it’s too late.

Absolutely this for me ^

Mine usually kicks in a bit later on in the year and I normally get a couple of days when it is horrendous… I’ve never found any particular antihistamines make me drowsy and tend to grab whatever is on the shelf in front of me when buying them.. They all seem to work a bit when I get it badly but if symptoms kick in before I take the tablet, they don’t seem to make a huge amount of difference..

Just realised, after a few years of seemingly getting a cold round about this time, that is probably hayfever – which I’ve obstinately denied before now.

Just to say, you’re not alone – it took me an embarrassing number of years of “summer colds” to realise I’d developed hayfever.

I think a lot of people have been there. I was ok growing up (my brother had it quite badly) but started to get a lot of colds in the spring while living in Japan. Cedar fever, they call it. And it’s kept going back in the UK.

The cheapest pills work well enough for me.

Don’t forget tree pollen,it’s not always shown on the pollen warnings unless you look for it.

It tends to be worse on windy days.

I get this fairly badly and don’t bother with the tablets any more as they used to barely scratch the surface for my symptoms. The best I’ve found to date is a prescription only nasal spray with Fluticasone propionate in it (Dymista); you can get similar stuff over the counter now if you look about for it in your local chemist or supermarket:

https://www.boots.com/sitesearch?searchTerm=Fluticasone+propionate&paging.index=0&paging.size=4&sortBy=mostRelevant

If you do find you have to take a daily anti-histamine, at least you’ll find you become somewhat resistant to nettles as a side-effect. The still sting and throb for a bit, but the itch soon wears off, and it’s nothing like as long lasting. It’s not much, but it’s at least something.

Two years ago and you’re all screaming its covid.

I don’t get on with anti-histamines so I use prescription nasal steroid spray.  Only use over sprung summer when I’m suffering worst – huge improvement for me

Two years ago and you’re all screaming its covid.

Only one person still screaming about covid, to be fair. Anyway, the grown ups are talking about something else.

I developed hayfever in the past 3 years or so. First dry hazy weekend of the year it feels like I am swimming rather than walking. Yesterday was really tough – beautiful sunny hazy day but my eyes were on fire and my nose was streaming all day. Antihistamines help a little bit but only when it started raining late afternoon did I start to feel better.

Was mad, the cars on our street were all covered with a yellow powdery patina from all the pollen. One of those days where being inside didn’t really help much either!

the cars on our street were all covered with a yellow powdery patina from all the pollen

This was my trigger yesterday to realise it was probably Hayfever – car was coated.

Going to try a run at lunch, the one satisfaction from that being that it gets all the gunk moving so I can empty it out in the woods.

FWIW my wife never suffered from hay fever until we moved to Aviemore so we concluded it was pollen. If the onset of your problems can be traced back to a house move then you might have an answer.

Why not both? 😆

Since I began cycling for fitness in ’17 rather than simply getting from A to B, more often than not I get a cold/lurgy in early March, which knocked back the winter turbo gains a bit once I’d recovered. Unusually, I avoided any lurgy in March ’22, so took my full gains outdoors and set new segment time bests for fun or gotextremely close despite being 5Kg+ heavier than summer ’17… Until getting a lurgy late July and then covid (which turned into long) late September ’22.

Typically my hayfever starts from mid March. On the bike it’s the runny nose, off the bike it’s usually the eyes affecting me most.

I’ve started to suffer from hay fever in recent years. I just get hay fever tablets from the supermarket, I don’t take them daily but I’ll take them for two or three days in a row if the symptoms are bad, non stop runny nose, really itchy eyes etc.

Timely! After yesterday’s ride, I had a major episode (for me) of sneezing. I’d never experienced such an episode or would I have attributed it to hayfever or allergies but Mrs Vlad is a nurse so has got me on nasal spray and antihistamines (I needed antihistamines for insect bites anyway).

Getting old is no fun ☹️

I had it bad at Christmas thanks to my sister in law and her indoor hyacinths.

Timely! After yesterday’s ride, I had a major episode (for me) of sneezing.

You could feel the astronomic pollen levels round my way yesterday morning. I think plants in the region took the previous night’s storms as a cue to dump every ounce at once.

Can Hayfever cause a phlegmy cough?

After visiting FoD developed a horrible cough and fatigue and it ain’t shifting but no itchy eyes or sneezing fits.

That, in isolation, doesn’t sound hayfever related. Anecdotally have heard of a few people with a nasty cough that sticks around for a while.

Thanks, have heard there is a cough going around too, probably coincidental with the visit to FoD.

Must stop snorting the tyre sealant!

Seems to be an unusual spike in Whooping Cough at the moment – if you find yourself with a properly violent hacking cough that won’t clear up, it’s a possibility.

https://x.com/1goodtern/status/1791364175010128297