Treatment options

Antihistamines

Some customers will prefer to use one product to treat all of their hayfever symptoms. Antihistamine tablets and syrups can be suitable in this case. They work by blocking the action of histamine, one of the chemicals released when a person with hayfever encounters pollen.

These products tend to start working quickly and relieve most allergy symptoms. They can be taken as and when symptoms arise, or on a daily basis. Oral antihistamines can be separated into two groups:

• Sedating antihistamines – the most common example is chlorphenamine (e.g. Piriton Allergy Tablets). Sedating antihistamines have a short duration of action so need to be taken frequently – every four to six hours. As they can cause drowsiness, care needs to be taken when recommending these as they are not suitable for some people, including those who drive or operate machinery at work.

• Non-sedating antihistamines – examples include acrivastine (e.g. Benadryl Allergy Relief), cetirizine (e.g. Benadryl Allergy One A Day, Benadryl Allergy Children’s 1mg/ml Oral Solution), loratadine (e.g. Clarityn Allergy) and fexofenadine (e.g. Allevia). Drowsiness is not usually a problem with these products, and they tend to have a longer duration of action so don’t need to be taken as frequently as sedating antihistamines.

Nasal sprays

One of the main hayfever symptoms is inflammation of the lining of the nose. Various products are available to treat this symptom:

• Corticosteroid nasal sprays – examples include beclometasone dipropionate (e.g. Beconase Hayfever), fluticasone propionate (e.g. Pirinase Hayfever Relief, Dymista Control – which also contains the antihistamine azelastine), budesonide (e.g. Benacort) and mometasone furoate (e.g. Clarinaze Hayfever Relief).

These are often the first choice of treatment for people who experience regular allergy symptoms over a long period of time. For best results, customers should start to use these medications a couple of weeks before the hayfever season starts. They should then be used on a regular basis. 

• Saline nasal sprays – these offer a non-medicinal way of relieving nasal congestion. Products containing natural sea water (e.g. Stérimar Hayfever & Allergy Relief) work by washing away allergens and rebalancing nasal functions.

Some contain additional ingredients to neutralise allergens in the nose and form a protective film to prevent them from irritating the lining of the nose (e.g. Stérimar Stop & Protect Allergy Response)

A note about decongestant nasal sprays: OTC decongestants containing oxymetazoline and xylometazoline are not usually recommended for hayfever as they should only be used for a maximum of five days at a time. Examples include Vicks Sinex Nasal Spray and Otrivine Nasal Spray.

Eye drops

Itchy, red and watery eyes are common symptoms of hayfever. A type of treatment called a mast cell stabiliser (e.g. sodium cromoglicate) can help to manage these symptoms.

The body’s mast cells contain histamine and they play a central role in many different allergies. As their name suggests, mast cell stabilisers work by stabilising mast cells, stopping them from releasing histamine and preventing allergic symptoms such as itchy, red and watery eyes from occurring.

Examples include Opticrom Hayfever Eye Drops and Optrex Hayfever Relief Eye Drops.