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My wife used to suffer bad to the point her face would swell.
our 4yr old has always had allergies and pollen is a big one.
this year he seems exceptionally bad and he’s on piriton, local honey and we have tried Latvian bee pollen but he hates it.
It’s not the best tasting stuff and trying to explain to a 4yr old it’s for the better doesn’t happen.
Any old wives tricks you guys know that can help?
I also need to purchase an air purifier for his room and would like your opinions on which ones are good. I don’t trust reviews that all sound like one person writing them.
his room is about 15sq meters
Vacuum dusty surfaces (although make sure the vacuum actually filters properly and isn’t chucking dust out due to badly fitting/overloaded filters) don’t use dry dusters (ok for polishing or final wipe after cleaning).
Bath the dog (if applicable), don’t allow it in bedrooms...same for cats. Even if you don’t appear allergic to them they create allergins which contribute to lowering your threashold of tolerance.
Any mould/damp in the house? Even if it’s just the bathroom (bear in mind opening a bathroom window can blow that damp mouldy air into the rest of the house depending on wind direction - adequate mechanical extraction is a must).
Something I found with hey fever allergies as well as my Asthma is its variable. The body does have a level of tolerance and histamine production is variable. Imagine your body is a glass with water in, add some more it’s ok, add even more and it overflows, so you either want a bigger glass (quota/tolerance which can be varied based on diet (for me avoiding wheat/yeasts and other grain based food/drink as well as processed sugars helps) exercise, spa therapy (steam room/sauna/swimming) as well as medication ), less water in the first place (background allergen levels due to atmosphere, pets, damp/dusty household etc) or add less water (less exposure to allergic triggers). When above the ‘quota’ you are screwed, so it’s a case of both raising that tolerance threashold as well as just avoiding/minimising the allergines and taking meds. This a involves a good look at diet and exercise as well as what’s in the house that could also raise histamine levels.
Ever note that when sleeping you dont have heyfever (for most)?
That’s providing you can get to sleep! And that brief 30seconds after waking up and not being allergic...then suddenly you feel the nasal twitch then within a minute your a sneezing, streaming, snotty, puffy eyed mess! What changed in that 30 seconds? Nothing..just your brain!
Consider fitting an air filtration system in your home.
One of my tenants suffered from debilitating asthma.
I fitted a small permanently powered air filtration system in the flat.
It cleans the air coming into the property from outside.
It cost around £750 for a 1-bed flat at the time and running costs are about the same as a 40W light bulb.
I change the filter (£18) every 18-24 months.
She thought it was really beneficial. No wonder: here’s a picture of a unit air filter after 18 months.
And this is in a property in a quiet residential back road.
Last edited by SouthWalesSam; May 16, 2019 at 08:34 AM.
Vacuum dusty surfaces (although make sure the vacuum actually filters properly and isn’t chucking dust out due to badly fitting/overloaded filters) don’t use dry dusters (ok for polishing or final wipe after cleaning).
Bath the dog (if applicable), don’t allow it in bedrooms...same for cats. Even if you don’t appear allergic to them they create allergins which contribute to lowering your threashold of tolerance.
Any mould/damp in the house? Even if it’s just the bathroom (bear in mind opening a bathroom window can blow that damp mouldy air into the rest of the house depending on wind direction - adequate mechanical extraction is a must).
Something I found with hey fever allergies as well as my Asthma is its variable. The body does have a level of tolerance and histamine production is variable. Imagine your body is a glass with water in, add some more it’s ok, add even more and it overflows, so you either want a bigger glass (quota/tolerance which can be varied based on diet (for me avoiding wheat/yeasts and other grain based food/drink as well as processed sugars helps) exercise, spa therapy (steam room/sauna/swimming) as well as medication ), less water in the first place (background allergen levels due to atmosphere, pets, damp/dusty household etc) or add less water (less exposure to allergic triggers). When above the ‘quota’ you are screwed, so it’s a case of both raising that tolerance threashold as well as just avoiding/minimising the allergines and taking meds. This a involves a good look at diet and exercise as well as what’s in the house that could also raise histamine levels.
Ever note that when sleeping you dont have heyfever (for most)?
That’s providing you can get to sleep! And that brief 30seconds after waking up and not being allergic...then suddenly you feel the nasal twitch then within a minute your a sneezing, streaming, snotty, puffy eyed mess! What changed in that 30 seconds? Nothing..just your brain!
Probably not, but the sleeping brain does not trigger a histamine in response to allergins like it does when its awake. Really the science behind allergies and the bod’s behaviour in relation to it is severely lacking, as is asthma which is a broad terminology for breathing issues that cover a massive base of issues of which are only partly understood. A bit like cancer really but with far less funding.
Doctors don’t always help, seeking on cure for condition rather than finding underlying issues.
For example with me, certain washing powders can have an effect. Ironically Fairy non-bio triggers all sort of allergic reactions...but not consistently nor immediately noticed either.
Inccidentally I’ve been looking at MVHR for the house I just purchased in order to keep the air fresh and filtered without excessive heat loss (and consequential heating costs), although its a massive outlay for something that may or may not work.
Blueair 411 £129 is significantly helping my son.
5 changes of air per hour, in a 15 sqm room.
The low setting is quiet enough to sleep through - you can just hear it at 3m away.
Given you have to open the window at some stage, I then close the room window and door and use the max setting for an hour - it's noisy at this setting.
Normally, I close the window and/or door, then put it on the medium setting (annoying after a while, if you're in the room) for a couple of hours, before sleep, then turn to low.
I suffer from hay fever quite badly and as Sam has pointed out it's trial and error as to what works and what doesn't. I only started to suffer when I was at university but since then it's been pretty bad every year if not kept under control. Some years I have found nasal sprays to work effectively but I can't imagine that a 4 year old is going to take to kindly to those. For many years Priton syrup was my go to, as this was the only thing that seemed to keep the allergy at bay. However, over the last two years I have found Wilko's own hay fever tablets to do the trick just as effectively as Piriton syrup: https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-on...pack/p/0341119 .
Hope you manage to get things sorted for your little lad as hay fever is miserable.
That’s just Loratadine...your hum drum antihistamine, found in most heyfever drugs both cheap (supermarket brands ) and expensive (like Claritin). I avoid it as makes me extremely drowsy and zombie-like. TBH most have side effects with me but that one is has the worst.
Little update.
We bought an air purifier around the time of this thread and although it didn't improve his hayfever the defianfly seems to sleep better at night.
As for the hayfever, I don't know what pollen has stopped but for the past 2 weeks hes only had a little snuffle/blocked nose and isn't sneezing as much as he was.
The itchy swollen eyes have gone down so hopefully the 2 weeks he had is gone.
Vaseline over his face, eye drops, portion, local honey and even cold medicines helped but not much.
I've always suffered terribly with this throughout my life and it even put me in hospital last year. There are no new miracle remedies unfortunately as I speak to the doctor yearly on this. I have been changed by the doctor from piriton (certirizine) onto Fexofenadine last year which is a little stronger and has helped me now. Also try the steriod based beconase spray and use it morning and evening daily before the season starts. It really does work. Mine was bad, but in the last 4 weeks the drugs have caught up and I've probably had my best season ever.
Very effective, also effectively filters farts. Spooky thing is the dude in the pic is a doppelgänger for me
Gone on a detox now, the weather has calmed a little plus the farmers have cut and baled the hay so levels round here have dropped (can no longer smell it in the air).
I've had it most of my life and it is absolute murder this year.
Things I've found to work are to start taking the antihistamines ahead of the pollen count ramping up, seems to be more effective at preventing a reaction if histamine production has already been suppressed for some time.
Exercise seems to offer temporary relief, must be the adrenaline or blood flowing away from the sinuses. Either way, symptoms are a shadow of themselves for as long as I'm training. Don't know how much help that will be for a 4 year-old though.
When I've had a bad reaction I get in the shower when I get home, get the eyes face flushed out with water, I'm usually alright after that.
Some say a bit of moisturiser in/around the nostrils stops pollen getting in. Could be right, but at very least it stops that particular area from itching and turning raw as the season goes on.
Very effective, also effectively filters farts. Spooky thing is the dude in the pic is a doppelgänger for me
Gone on a detox now, the weather has calmed a little plus the farmers have cut and baled the hay so levels round here have dropped (can no longer smell it in the air).
You must look an awful lot like a certain fictional serial killer called Dexter cos at first glance that's who I thought it was in that mask ...
Theres lots of different drugs available, shouldnjust be a case of finding the right one. Pop to the chemist and cycle through them to see which works. After that go see your gp there are stronger and again different ones available that way.
I get it bad but only my eyes. For most of this month they have been glowing bright red, itchy as hell and with large puffy bags under them. In the last week they've got better but I guess that a change in the weather? I take the daily off the shelf pills which help a little and chuck eye drops into them as often as necessary (far more often that the instruction sheet suggests) but I keep hearing about people getting £20 injections and it curing them of hayfever for the season. Has anyone seen of tried these?
Hay fever !!!
