Hello to the team at Dogs Today.
I’m hoping you can help. I know this is a forum for doggie advice, but I’m hoping you can help a human! Spring’s been a bit later this year, and I’m just feeling my hayfever beginning to start. It’s at its worst at my favourite time of day – the afternoon dog walk. Anti-histamines do give me headaches, so I was wondering if you know of anything natural I can take or use to keep me from getting concerned looks from other dog walkers as I look like I’ve been crying with my streaming eyes and nose!
Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
Kind regards,
Mrs Ashton, by email
Try taking some local honey - make sure it's produced in your area.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, poor you. I found out last year that I am allergic to tree pollen and grass and .... my rescue dog Charlie. It results in a cough and tight chest that won't go away. I have been prescribed anti histamines and an inhaler. I would love to know what other sufferers do. My only advice would be to alter the time you walk. Go early in the morning or after 6pm when the pollen is low. Try and find a park where you can walk the path and there are fewer trees or less long grass. It may be an idea to get a blood test to find out exactly what you are allergic to. It may be just a certain type of tree which you can learn to avoid. At least we have lighter evenings now for dog walks x
ReplyDeleteThere are a few things I can think of, being a hayfever sufferer myself:
ReplyDelete1) Try a different brand of anti-histamines. I know that sounds like I'm being patronizing, but Clarityn's active ingredient is loratadine while Piriteze's is cetirizine, so maybe a different brand won't cause headaches.
2) There's a product called "Haymax" which I use on mild pollen days instead of taking tablets. This is a Vaseline type product which you put around your nostrils (and eyes if you want to): it claims to "trap the pollen before it gets in".
3) A friend also recommends taking a teaspoon of local honey every day (ideally starting a few weeks before the peak pollen season) to get your system used to it. I have no idea if this works though, as I have struggled to find local honey in the shops!
I hope some of that helps. Hayfever is THE most annoying thing ever; at least people with food allergies can avoid their irritants, but ours is in the air!
Local honey taken in hot water daily is a great way to help reduce hayfever symptoms. I also rub vaseline around my nostrils and just on the inside as this helps to catch the pollen and I always wear sunglasses even on dull days during hayfever season.
ReplyDeleteThere's a product which I've seen in my local Holland & Barrat store - I can't remember it's name but it's a wax-y type substance that you rub on the outside of your nose and it then traps pollen *before* it can enter your system.
ReplyDelete