Tips to Give Hayfever the Heave-Ho!

Usually, if I was reading an article or health post, I would have scrolled on by anything to do with hayfever. Well it didn’t apply to me as I’d never been a sufferer…until now! At the beginning of this week, I opened my eyes and immediately closed them. I’d had 8 hours sleep – unusually, with no 3.30am pee break – and I hadn’t been on the red wine – so why did I just want to close my eyes and go back to sleep? My eyes were sore, tired, itchy…and when I finally got out of bed and looked in the mirror, I noticed they were puffy too. Letting out a huge sneeze, I looked at my weary reflection and muttered, ‘Oh, hello, Hayfever Face.’

 

Now, I am not a doctor, so I can’t give you chapter and verse on the dos and don’t’s of getting through hayfever season without wanting to rip your hair out and scream ‘P*SS OFF POLLEN!!!!!’, but get me on Google and let me have a chat to some people in the know, and I can get you (and me) some tips and tricks that might just allow us sufferers to ride out this pollen-fuelled wave of springtime looking less like a swollen, snotty mess than we might otherwise.

Laptop open, my first stop for remedies was the all-knowing NHS website, which said, rather unhelpfully, ‘There’s currently no cure for hayfever and you cannot prevent it’ Oh. Right. Well, that’s not enough words for this post, so I chugged on regardless, looking for anything that might shed some relief, and found these tips…

  • Ayurvedic Facialist and Healer, Gerald Mousset (@geradlmousset on Instagram) recommends washing your face when you come in from outside to get rid of any pollen. Health experts agree and say a shower and change of clothes is a good idea as well to get off any allergens that are clinging to your person. Sounds like common sense but, in reality, if you’re a makeup wearer, you might not want to remove your makeup and reapply throughout the day. But I do get some relief from a cooling facial spritz. I have a few and one of my favourites is B.Vitalised Vitamin Facial Spritz, £4.48, which I keep in the fridge for added ahhhh.
  • A friend of mine told me about someone she knows who stings herself with nettles and swears it has cured her of chronic hayfever! WTF – How? Why? This seems like a pretty drastic measure and one I won’t be copying, but it does have some sound scientific value behind it. Apparently, stinging nettles are thought to be able to reduce the amount of histamine in the body caused by allergies and, after further research, I found that stinging yourself to help stop hayfever symptoms isn’t as uncommon as I thought. Still…no thanks. I’ve heard some good things about Clipper Nettle Tea, £9.38 so will be giving this a go for a less stingy option! It’s said to have numerous health benefits aside from lessening annoying hay fever effects, such as helping improve arthritis and achey bones and muscles, psoriasis, gout and urinary problems. Another tip though – nettle juice or tea is an acquired taste and you might want to add a little honey to improve it. 
  • Keep windows closed during peak pollen hours in the morning and again, at dusk.
  • Don’t hang clothes out to dry (shame now that we’ve got the weather for it!) because airborne particles can stick to clothes so tumble drying is best for now.
  • Use a little dab of vaseline on your nostrils before venturing anywhere pollen-y. This can help catch the little airborne ars*holes before they enters the nostrils setting off a stream of snot or sneezes!
  • Sunglasses are essential to fend off pollen attack and help hide puffy, streaming eyes.
  • You can get some relief from eye drops and over-the-counter allergy relief tablets. I sometimes pop a Benadryl Allergy Relief Capsule (on special offer at Boots right now 2 packs for £6) and rely on Optrex Soothing Eye Drops for Itchy Eyes
  • Another solution for red itchy eyes was recommended to me by Heidi from at Chronic Beauty Style is Liz Earle Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion, £16, which includes ingredients such as the herb eyebright, witch hazel, aloe vera and cornflower to cool and soothe the delicate eye area. Again, always nicer if it’s been kept in the fridge. Simply soak a couple of pads and rest on eyes for a few minutes. Luverly!Did you know that there’s research going on to find out if non injectable Botox can cure hafever? There are some medical professionals that say they have found it works and others are a bit dismissive – so jury is out on ‘Haytox’ for now. But if that changes, I’ll be sure to let you know!

If there’s anything that helps you during hayfever season, please do let me know and I’ll be back soon with a video of some beauty find that help improve your Hayfever Face!

HAYFEVER RELIEF UPDATE!

A lovely blogger Jo from parenting website Mother of Teenagers alerted me to the fact that hayfever can hit at menopause even if we’ve never had symptoms before. The hormonal changes going on affect the nervous system, digestion and sleep causing fatigue and all of this leads to a weakened immune system – hence, us midlifers may be more prone to hayfever. Jo was recommended The Blephasol Duo Eyelid Hygiene Lotion with 100 pads, £10.99 by her doctor and, Jo says it’s a real help!

 

 

 

 

6 Comments

  1. April 27, 2020 / 1:47 pm

    Good post Lisa..hayfever can be linked to migraines too apparently. I think I’ll give the nettle stings a miss though. Thank you for mentioning my suggestion, Eyebright is a really helpful eye soother
    H x

  2. Glowology
    Author
    April 27, 2020 / 5:32 pm

    Thank you for the recommendation Heidi! I didn’t know that about migraines. The stinging nettle suggestion isn’t one for me either – saying that, the nettle tea is taking some getting used to. Blurgh!

  3. April 29, 2020 / 11:49 pm

    Lisa like you I have never suffered from hay fever or any other irritation of the eye area however pre Xmas and beyond I had a serious bout of constant eye issues that literally drove me crazy. My eyes puffed up considerably and were raw and itchy. After multiple trips to the docs I went through several treatments – medical dose anti-histamines, antibiotics etc the only thing that worked was an immunosuppressant cream which was just at the beginning of CV scare. It literally worked overnight. Since then I have continued to suffer – not like I did previously but I still don’t feel my eyes are ok. Pre-lockdown I decided not to wear make up and skin creams near my eyes and have continued with that but was told by an optometrist pre-lockdown that menopause can really affect your eyes. The lockdown in this regard has given me some respite as I am not wearing anything and I wonder like anything if our eyes become over sensitised and just need a break. X

    • Glowology
      Author
      April 30, 2020 / 10:19 am

      Wow Jo – that sounds horrendous…my eyes are feeling a lot better now but I don’t think it’s just because I’m drinking nettle tea etc, the pollen count seems a bit better. And yes, isn’t it typical that menopause is again throwing us these dodgy symptoms! Glad you seem to have yours under control and lockdown no makeup is helping too 🙂 xx

  4. April 29, 2020 / 11:53 pm

    PS tried the Liz Earle lotion – so horrendous it was like someone had poured acid in my eyes. Love all her stuff but not this – for any eye issues I was recommended Blephasol – a natural cleaner for sensitive eyes and it has really helped. X

    • Glowology
      Author
      April 30, 2020 / 10:20 am

      OMG! Sorry to hear that Jo – obviously works for some and others! I love her stuff too and haven’t tried the lotion – it was recommended by another sufferer. And thanks for your tips – it all helps and I really appreciate you letting me know! xx

Please leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d