Hayfever Help

Glorious weather is forecast for the next few days….the fields are spread with buttercups and clover….the hedgerows a mass of hawthorn and foxgloves…..the gardens flower-filled and bountiful.  Tanned and soon-to-be-tanned limbs are finally on show and friends are looking fresh in summer frocks.  The long-awaited summer is here.

I've been longing for summer, too.  Just can't help it.  Think it's an innate human longing - particularly when the winter has been long and hard.  But me?  Far from looking fresh and animated, I'm a blotchy spectacle to behold.  Puffy eyes that are wrinkled from continual rubbing, a red nose that's so inflamed inside, a throat and mouth that are raw, tender pollen-coated skin (it actually HURTS to wear my glasses)….AND I'm covered in insect bites to boot.  Oh the joys!

I've never found anything that significantly combats hay fever.  And I've tried all sorts.  All kinds of antihistamines (make very little difference and turn me into a zombie)….NAET therapy (expensive and made no difference whatsoever)….eating local honey every day for months prior to the start of the season (nope, no effect at all).  Every year I try something new.  Each time I move house, I hope this will be where I leave the hay fever behind (different pollens and all that).  But, 36 years after it started oh-so-suddenly in the middle of my third form Latin exam, the hay fever is still as horrendous as ever.

For fellow sufferers, however, here are a few things I've found that DO make a difference.  To be honest, the difference is minimal - I still feel totally crap.  But feeling this wretched, even the most minute relief is welcome.

 

TIE YOUR HAIR BACK.  I'm willing to bet that bald men don't suffer from pollen as badly as those of us with tresses!  Scraping my hair back off my face (not my best look!) is probably the thing that helps most. 

 

WASH YOUR HAIR EVERY DAY.  Hair harbours pollen.  Wash it out at least once a day.

 

WEAR CLEAN CLOTHES AND WASH/CHANGE YOUR BEDDING FREQUENTLY.  Pollen loves fabric.  I don't have carpets in my house and very few curtains.  Since I've yet to find a satisfactory alternative to fabric garments and fabric bedclothes, I just wash them all lots.

 

KEEP DOORS AND WINDOWS SHUT.  Okay, this is obvious - but it helps.  And yes, it's galling, when the British sun makes a rare appearance, to have to hide inside with all the doors and windows shut.  But it's worth it.  The pollen still finds its way indoors, of course.  But there's definitely less of it in than out.

 

WEAR SUNGLASSES OUTSIDE.  An old trick but still one of the best.

 

DRIVE A CAR WITH AIR CONDITIONING.  There are certain luxuries in life that become almost necessities when you're battling a certain condition.  When you have hay fever, a car with air conditioning falls into that category.  I cannot tell you how immeasurably this has improved my experience of travel during the hay fever season.  No matter how hot it gets, I can keep the windows shut.

 

HIT THE SWIMMING POOL.  If you can't stop sneezing, get to your local pool and get your head under the water.

 

HIT THE SAUNA.  Not much pollen inside a sauna and then you sweat off what's on your skin.  Take a shower when you come out to get the pollen out of your hair and this is probably the best you're going to feel all day.

 

MSM.  It's anti-inflammatory and it's the way I start every day during the hay fever season.  I mix a heaped teaspoon into a glass of water along with the juice of half a lemon (MSM works best when combined with citrus).  I add a torn leaf or two of mint and basil for added flavour and swoosh them about.  I really enjoy this, though MSM is very bitter and not to everyone's taste - in which case, it's available in capsule form, too.

 

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR.  A lot of people swear by this for help with allergies.  Personally, I've found it improves things by about 2%.  But I'll take every percentage point going.  Just mix a little into a glass of water and sip. 

 

SUCK MINTS.  Whilst sugar makes a hay fever sore throat exponentially worse for me, sucking sugar-free mints can ease things.  My favourite are Peppersmith Lemon Mints which are xylitol based.

 

If you've found anything else that helps, PLEASE tell me in the comments!