Allergies/Hayfever

Hay fever

Hay fever is a very common condition in New Zealand. Hay fever is most common in the spring and summer months although for some hay fever can be a year round problem. Hay fever is mostly caused by pollen that is released in higher amounts in the spring to summer time. In New Zealand the traditional hay fever season is from October through to January.

The best way to treat hayfever is to take an oral antihistamine. These are tablets that have an active ingredient that stops the body producing histamine when it comes into contact with a hayfever trigger. Histamine is a natural chemical in the body and causes us to get itchy eyes, itchy throats, runny noses, skin rashes and congestion. There are two types of antihistamines. The most common are the non-sedating type. These include Zyrtec, Telfast and Claratyne. Zyrtec, Telfast and Claratyne will not make you drowsy. You can also get sedating antihistamines. The most common are Polaramine and Phenergan. These are effective antihistamines and have the benefit of helping you sleep if your symptoms are severe enough to interfere with your sleeping.

If you do not want to take tablets for your hay fever then you can also use products like eye drops, nasal sprays and topical creams. Livistin is an example of a great topical anti-histamine that works fast, lasts a long time and you just use it by putting a few sprays in your nose or some drops in your eyes. Flixonase is another product that has protective effect for the runny nose symptoms of hayfever. You need to take Flixonase every day and it will dampen your body’s reaction to the nasal symptoms of hay fever.

Allergies

Allergies are something that many of us suffer from at some time in our life. [..continued..]