Hay fever advice

27/03/2019

Many treatments for hay fever can be bought without a prescription from pharmacies or other retail outlets. A wide range of hay fever medications are available without seeing a doctor and often at a low cost, cheaper than the cost of an NHS prescription fee. Buying hay fever medication can be convenient for many patients and can also be more cost effective for the NHS.

Examples of hay fever treatments that can be bought include:

• Antihistamine tablets and syrup, for example;
• chlorphenamine
• cetirizine
• loratadine
• acrivastine
• Antihistamine nasal sprays, e.g. Rhinolast
• Steroid nasal sprays, e.g. Beconase and Flixonase
• Eye drops, e.g. Hay-Crom, Opticrom and Alomide Allergy
• Decongestants, e.g. Sinutab
• Simple pain relief, e.g. paracetamol.

Patients are advised to see their GP:

• if they are experiencing wheezing, breathlessness or tightness in their chest
• If they are pregnant or breastfeeding
• If their symptoms are not relieved by over the counter treatments in combination with measures to reduce exposure to pollen.

There are a variety of ways to help you avoid the triggers of hay fever.  These include:

• Keep the windows shut in the house and the car especially when pollen counts are high
• Avoid cutting the grass, grassy areas, woodland, pollutants and car fumes
• Wear wrap-around sunglasses
• When you get indoors wash your hands, face, hair, rinse your eyes and change your clothes
• If possible stay indoors when the pollen count is high
• Use petroleum jelly inside your nose to block inhalation of pollen
• Keep your house clean and wear a mask and glasses when doing house work
• Don’t dry washing outside to avoid pollen sticking to your clothes
• You could buy a pollen filter for the air vents in the car.