Hayfever Helpers with Superdrug Health

I have had hayfever for the past three or so years and I didn't know how lucky I was before then to not have suffered with hayfever! Hayfever is an allergic condition where your body thinks that pollen grains you inhale are dangerous and need to be destroyed, as if they were a pathogen hence the symptoms of feeling ill, having a runny nose, itchy eyes or a cough, stuffy sinuses or general feeling like you have a cold.

Everyones hayfever symptoms are going to be a little different, for me, my hayfever symptoms manifest themselves in the form of a runny nose, tingling sinuses, headaches and watering eyes as well as feeling like I can't breathe as normal, like I'm breathing in something thick and irritating *sexy*. I think that my eczema and hayfever are in some way connected too which is great...I've tried so many antihistamines, including loratadine and while they do help, it's definitely not enough to tackle my hayfever symptoms so the best option for me has been a multi-product approach.

Antihistamines 

Antihistamines are a common way of relieving hayfever symptoms, the common options in the UK include: cetrizine hydrochloride and *loratadine tablets (£3.49, 14 tablets) which are both available on the superdrug website. I've tried both as well as a couple of others including chlorphenamine maleate and fexofenadine, the latter is a prescription only antihistamine and oh boy...it was not fun! Check out the non-prescription antihistamines out there but if they don't work, go to your GP and see if they have any options for prescription antihistamines.

Nasal Sprays + Barrier Balms

Another option which happens to be the grossest is nasal sprays. I've tried a couple including Avemys nasal spray suspension (such a nice, not disgusting sounding product...) which doesn't help me really, it makes me feel like I have a cold! However, it is another option to try out if you didn't want to take antihistamine tablets.

Let's up the gross factor shall we? There are also nasal/skin balms that you can use as a barrier to try to prevent the inhalation of pollen. I have tried one ages ago and I found it did help (I'll have to find it again) but only if you use it immediately after you've washed your face/woken up.

Eye Sprays & Drops 

Lastly for the products that I have personally tried, eye sprays and drops. My eyes can become a little dry and irritated as I wear contact lenses most of the time and hayfever does make it worse. Eye drops can definitely help although I always end up blinking out the drops...thankfully that isn't an issue anymore because of the *Optrex Activist 2 in 1 Eye Spray (£15.99, 10ml) which is a miracle product for me right now!

It's designed for dry and irritated eyes which mine definitely are at this time of the year especially! You just spray it over closed eyes and instantly my eyes feel so much better, less dry and less irritated which is fantastic. It also states that it 'wont smudge eye makeup' and it doesn't although I haven't tried it with full on winged liner or a smoky eye, I couldn't wear that anyway with the awful hayfever I have. While it obviously doesn't get rid of hayfever symptoms, it definitely helps me to feel like less of a runny nosed, achy and ill form of myself! It is a little pricy but personally it's so worth it - also it doesn't irritate the eczema I have over my eyes, I'm impressed.

Superdrug are currently having an offer of buy one, get the second half price on selected allergy products! 

Do you have hayfever/allergies? Have you tried any of these products?