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Ah the pollen season has started.

13:46 / 12.06.02

Does anyone else have bad hayfever?

I'm really suffering here, I bet it sounds so lame but its true

I've been having really bad heachaches and I think it was a sign that it was about to start, and today it did. It not as bad as usual but it'll get worse - eyes watering so much you can't see, non stop nose running, fun, fun...

Does anyone have any olde remedies for it? I went out and got some Clarityn pills which seems to help if you use them first thing in the morning...

Fucking flowers.

Anyone know why it happens, why are some people allergic to it?

14:32 / 12.06.02

poor you. I had it really bad the past couple weeks, but the pollen's kind of died down here the past couple days, so I'm hoping it's over.

on the plus side, I've trained my mind to perceive every sneeze as a miniature orgasm, so I'm sometimes found smiling bizarrely in my office, while snot, rolls down my upper lip.

14:36 / 12.06.02

Im allergic to just about everything. I took one of those allergy skin tests and it was horrible - I reacted to everything, most horribly to cat, dog, and certain plant stuff. when I put up my xmas tree I get horrible rashes up and down my forearms because of the sap. I cant nuzzle my cats too much or my fact will turn into one giant itch. and if their little wet noses happen to touch my lip, Ill have a swollen itchy red patch on my lip for hours or even days. forget sitting in the grass or rolling down a damn hill, and Ill never volunteer for the SPCA!

Im also on claritin, and my daughter is on zyrtec (I take mine in the AM, hers in the PM). although it seems daft to leave you windows open during allergy season, I personally seem to have less problems when my place has aired out a day or two. invest in a hepa filter vacuum and an air purifier (get a big one, the little ones dont do too much good). I like baby wipes (the ones with little or no scent, and no alcohol content), which I frequently use on my hands when Im out, and can use to rub my eyes with. I wash my hands constantly

most of that is probably no good, but as a lifelong sufferer of serious allergies and asthma which is exacerbated by them, this helps for me

if your allergy meds arent working, see if you can get something else

14:47 / 12.06.02

If it's of any comfort, Bear, I never had hay fever until suddenly I got it big time in my twenties. I had misery for about ten summers and then it disappeared again. Still got the odd paroxysmal sneezing fit but it is occasional and my eyes don't run like they used to.

Apparently this is a common enough pattern, so you may be lucky, in several years' time. Probably not such a comforting thing to be telling you, when I think about it, since I did absolutely bugger all to achieve this improvement.

Our Lady of The Two Towers

16:59 / 12.06.02

I've had it since I was about 8 or 9, and I'm 26 now. I think it's eased somewhat, I used to have a day or two of absolute hell before the hayfever tablets kicked in. The last few years I was nowhere near that bad but would end up doing the tablets because my nose would just get itchy. I'm finding it seems to be partly psychosomatic, if i'm having an attack and I'm able to get working and do something to take my mind off of it, I find that helps. Last night on the tube I was actually having an attck while we were in the tunnels, far from any pollen. But as we approached my stop I said to myself, "when the doors open I'm not going to have any more hayfever!" and it seemed to work.

17:25 / 12.06.02

it might be a lot of other allergens rather than pollen - the cosmetics and fragrances the other passengers were wearing, mold, dust, and god knows what else from the seats, any cleaning agents they may have used...there are so many things to be allergic to in a given day

Less searchable M0rd4nt

17:28 / 12.06.02

Yeah, it's pretty grim all right. Apparently taking bee-pollen is supposed to help. I take Potters Antifect sometimes; otherwise it's the non-drowsy antihistamines for me.

Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero

18:36 / 12.06.02

I am not allergic to anything I can think of. My immune system is in fine working condition, despite years of smoking cutting it down a notch.

My brother has the amazing luck of being allergic to just about everything. I think he's allergic to things like telephones and radio waves, the poor bastard.

22:23 / 12.06.02

See now I had one of those skin tests, the ones where they prick your arm and put things on it to see if it reacts.
Well they said I was slightly allergic to animal furr (like fluffy rabbits) and nothing else.
But still every year I get the dam nose fever !

08:42 / 13.06.02

Rabbits and Grass Pollen myself and its an absolute bastard, just woke up this morning with that wonderful ICk aCK thing with having to chip stuff from round my eyes to get them to open. Wonderful.
But its still better than when I was younger, think they didn't have the non-drowsy drugs then because I used to be a zombie for about 2 months

08:56 / 13.06.02

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/misc/ht.asp?ID=21

Hay fever warning
The amount of pollen in the air is set to increase to up to five times last summer’s level, warn forecasters from the National Pollen Research Unit. ‘Excessively severe counts’ have already been detected in certain areas of the UK.

In most parts of England the symptoms start in the months of June or July. However, recent mild winters have caused plants to pollenate much earlier, catching hay fever sufferers unprepared.

Muriel Simmons, chief executive of the British Allergy Foundation, advises that medication should be started well before the onset of symptoms in order to reduce their severity. People with hay fever should also wear sunglasses to prevent pollen reaching the eyes, close car and bedroom windows, avoid pollen-rich areas, and shower in the evenings to remove any spores trapped in the hair.

The NHS Direct site has links to lots of other resources for sniffly bears too.

11:33 / 13.06.02

This spring I went vegan, and discovered what seems to be a direct correlation between my hayfever symptoms of 20 summers standing and my consumption of dairy products. This has been my first post-pubescent non-miserable summer and it fucking rocks.

Only thing is, I'm still not a very good vegan. That's how I discovered the correlation... fell victim to a cheese craving and 20 min later, snot everywhere.

I've also found that spending time in the centre of London, despite much absence of grass, fucks me right in the nose. It's the pollution, particularly those pollutants which react in strong sunlight- that'll re-sensitize me for a day or two, so after spending quality smog time grass hates me too.

23:46 / 16.06.02

FLAME:in the centre of London, It's the pollution,

I'm feelin that, i just love that blowing nose black stuff produce you get when you get home from town !

00:02 / 17.06.02

Warning: Zocher's tale of an eventual happy ending contrasts directly with my own experience. Fairly severe allergies to any animal with fur and dust and pollen throughout my life have just got steadily worse as I've got older (although I also suffer from rhinitis, which undoubtedly makes the effect of the allergies more pronounced). This weekend has been especially bad. I look forward to the forthcoming record pollen levels with dread.

For what it's worth, I take Zirtec (or Zirtek, Zyrtec, etc). Tried most of the prescription remedies over the years, this being the most successful. That's not saying much.