Name: When to See Your Doctor for Hay Fever | Healthwords
Creator: Dr Roger Henderson
Published: 2021-03-19T18:07:30.654Z

You may also want to see your doctor if you have any doubt about your diagnosis, or it doesn’t seem to fit a particular pattern. Other allergens can trigger a runny nose or itchy eyes, and this may be something to consider if you can’t see a pattern, or you are suffering symptoms all year round. House dust mite, animal dander, and mould are a few common ones.

What if its not hay fever?

Don't let hay fever control your life. Learn when it's essential to seek medical advice for effective management and symptom relief. Manage your health today.

When to See Your Doctor for Hay Fever | Healthwords

If you are pregnant, you should try drug-free treatments first. [Antihistamine ](https://www.healthwords.ai/treatment/antihistamines-432)tablets and [steroid nasal sprays](https://www.healthwords.ai/treatment/steroid-nasal-sprays-309) may be an option after a discussion about any risks with your doctor.

What if I'm pregnant?

Beconase Hayfever Relief for Adults 0.05% Nasal Spray (100 sprays) 

Becodefence Kids Nasal Spray (280 sprays)

Becodefence 20ml (140 sprays)

Piriteze Allergy Tablets (30 Tablets)

Piriton Syrup (150ml)

Pirinase Hayfever Relief for Adults 0.05% Nasal Spray (60 Sprays)

Piriton Tablets (30 Tablets)

Sterimar Hayfever and Allergies Isotonic Nasal Spray (50ml)

You should see your doctor urgently if your asthma is made worse by an allergen, or if you don’t have an asthma diagnosis, but are wheezing, short of breath, or have a cough for more than three weeks.

When should I see my doctor more urgently?

Constant sneezes and a streaming nose can be common in the pollen season. If you suffer from hay fever, or allergic rhinitis in medical terms, you will feel desperate to rid yourself of the tissues and feeling of congestion. Our pharmacist has put together some solutions to ease your nasal symptoms with hay fever.

Constant sneezes and a streaming nose can be common in the pollen season. If you suffer from hay fever, or allergic rhinitis in medical terms, you will feel desperate to rid yourself of the tissues and feeling of [congestion](https://www.healthwords.ai/symptom/blocked-nose-and-nasal-congestion). Our pharmacist has put together some solutions to ease your nasal symptoms with hay fever.

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[Prolapsed or ‘slipped’ discs](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/disc-herniation-causes-symptoms-and-treatment) in the back are a common cause of pain, and may occasionally cause more serious health problems such as nerve damage and bowel or bladder difficulties. You may wonder just how easy it is to know if you have a slipped disc, and whether it is possible to feel one with your hand if it happens. In this article we look at if this is something that can be done, and the correct way to have a possible slipped disc investigated. First, let’s remind ourselves about the anatomy of our spine (our backbone).

Most allergies are mild and need minimal treatment to clear up. They’re usually seen off within a few hours or days. It’s rare that they cause significant problems or a threat to your health.

[Hay fever](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/hay-fever-697) and animal allergies are the most common type of mild allergies, where an immune response is provoked when you come into contact with pollen or animal dander, releasing a substance called histamine. It gives a specific set of symptoms such as a runny or blocked nose, sneezing, watery or itchy eyes or an itchy skin rash.

If the pollen season is a time you dread each year, you may be looking for ways to relieve your hay fever symptoms. For a few people, avoiding the allergen and products from your pharmacy aren’t enough. As a doctor myself, I can take you through the options your own doctor may consider if your symptoms are taking their toll, including desensitising with allergy immunotherapy.

Hay fever tablets (also known as antihistamine tablets) are a group of medications that prevent the level of histamine from rising in our body and reduce the symptoms this can cause. [Antihistamines ](https://www.healthwords.ai/treatment/antihistamines-432)can be used to treat a range of conditions including [allergic reactions](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/hives-urticaria-173), [motion sicknes](https://www.healthwords.ai/symptom/motion-sickness-365)s and [insomnia](https://www.healthwords.ai/symptom/insomnia). However, the term "antihistamines" most commonly refers to medications that are used to treat hay fever.

[Antihistamines](https://www.healthwords.ai/treatment/antihistamines-432) (commonly referred to as hay fever tablets) are a group of medications that prevent the level of histamine from rising in our body and reduce the symptoms this can cause. Antihistamines can be used to treat a range of conditions including mild allergic reactions, [motion sickness](https://www.healthwords.ai/symptom/motion-sickness-365) and [insomnia](https://www.healthwords.ai/symptom/insomnia). However, the term "antihistamines" most commonly refers to medications that are used to treat hay fever.

There’s an array of antihistamine products available, so let our resident pharmacist take you through where to start and how to choose between them.

Dr Kandi - Allergy Medication

Pregnancy can leave you hot and bothered at the best of times, and you don’t want the added burden of [hay fever](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/hay-fever-697) symptoms. But lots of the products you’ve relied on before state they may not be safe in pregnancy.

So how can you treat your symptoms? As practising GPs here at Healthwords, we’re used to weighing up risks and benefits – some products that are labelled as "unlicensed for pregnancy" may be an option after discussion with your doctor. Let’s arm you with the facts first, before you speak to your doctor.

It’s also worth stating that hay fever, or [allergic rhinitis](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/allergic-rhinitis-585) (similar eye and nose symptoms to any allergen), is not known to cause any harm to you or your growing baby if left untreated. It’s for your comfort if you wish to pursue treatment for your symptoms.

Dr Kandi - Allergies in pregnancy

Hay fever – also known as seasonal allergic rhinitis - is an allergy to pollen, usually from grass or trees that can cause symptoms in either your eyes, nose or throat. In some sufferers it can cause a whole body response with a combination of symptoms, leaving you feeling pretty fed up and reluctant to embrace the great outdoors. It can also end up interfering with your work, study and sleep.

Pollen is a dust-like particle, carried on the wind and by insects such as bees to pollinate more plants. Proteins in pollen can trigger an inflammatory response where an immune-fighting substance called histamine is released from mast cells in the body. This is helpful in protecting you from certain irritants, but hay fever and other allergic reactions occur because your histamine release mechanism goes into overdrive. Hay fever is very common, affecting around 1 in every 5 people in the UK, and it often starts as a child or teenager. It can run in families, and you are more likely to have hay fever if you also suffer from [asthma ](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/asthma-what-is-it)or [eczema](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/eczema-88).

If you have hay fever, when you come into contact with pollen or the spores of moulds or fungi that you’re allergic to, your body produces an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE). Antibodies are usually only released to fight infection, but in this instance, your body believes the substance you’re allergic to is harmful.

When there’s a lot of the substance you’re allergic to in the air, the IgE antibodies will trigger the release of chemicals from certain cells in your nose, throat and eyes. One of these chemicals is histamine, and as a result of histamine in your system, you’ll experience the symptoms of hay fever.

Pollen is seasonal. You may be allergic to just one type of pollen, which means you are only susceptible to symptoms at certain times of the year, and therefore treatment can be limited to this time.

Treatment can be targeted at relieving each symptom or with the aim of dampening down inflammation throughout the body. With lots of hay fever products on the market, it can be tricky to know which is right for you, so let’s talk you through the options.

[Hay fever ](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/hay-fever-697)affects many people and is caused by an allergy to pollen. But did you know people are usually allergic to certain pollens and not others which is why people suffer hay fever at different points in the year? We’ll take you through matching your symptoms to the different pollens so you can get on top of your hay fever.

Dr Kandi - Seasons of hay fever

Constant sneezes and a streaming nose can be common in the pollen season. If you suffer from [hay fever](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/hay-fever-697), or [allergic rhinitis](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/allergic-rhinitis-585) in medical terms, you will feel desperate to rid yourself of the tissues and feeling of congestion. Our pharmacist has put together some solutions to ease your nasal symptoms with hay fever.

The word ‘rhinitis’ means inflammation of the nose and if this is caused by an allergy, it’s known as ‘allergic rhinitis’. Allergic rhinitis, also sometimes known as [hay fever](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/hay-fever-697), is an allergy to pollen and can occur all year round. Typically, grass or tree pollen is the cause, triggering itchy eyes, nose and throat plus sneezing, a runny nose and watery eyes. These symptoms occur in what’s known as hay fever season, which is typically from the end of March to July, but varies depending on where you are in the country and whether your allergy is to grass pollen that usually causes summer hay fever or tree pollen that affects people more in the spring. House dust mite and pet allergy can trigger allergic rhinitis at any time of the year.

Allergic rhinitis is very common, with around 1 in 5 people in the UK suffering with it at some point in their life. However, it most commonly starts as a child or teenager. It can run in families and you’re more likely to have allergic rhinitis if you also suffer from [asthma](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/asthma-what-is-it) or [eczema](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/eczema-88). Allergic rhinitis is not contagious (you can’t catch it from someone else).

Dr Kandi- Allergic rhinitis

Rhinitis simply means ‘inflammation of the nose’ and usually causes symptoms such as [nasal congestion](https://www.healthwords.ai/symptom/blocked-nose-and-nasal-congestion) (a blocked nose), a runny nose, itching, sneezing and a postnasal drip. There are many different causes of rhinitis so identifying the cause is the key to managing the symptoms. For many people, rhinitis can be a short-term (acute) condition that clears up after a few days or it can be a longer-term (chronic) condition that lasts several months or even all year round. Rhinitis is common and often becomes more common with increasing age.

Dr Kandi - Allergic Rhinitis

Beconase contains the active ingredient beclometasone, which is a type of medicine known as a corticosteroid. It is available over-the-counter for adults to prevent and treat the symptoms of [hay fever](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/hay-fever-697) and other airborne allergies such as animal and dust allergies. Beconase can help with sneezing, [congestion](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/rhinitis), an itchy or runny nose, sinus discomfort and eyes that are red, itchy or watery.

Nasal allergies, also known as [allergic rhinitis](https://www.healthwords.ai/condition/allergic-rhinitis-585), can cause discomfort and interfere with daily activities. Fortunately, nasal sprays are effective tools for managing allergy symptoms, providing relief from congestion, sneezing, itching, and runny nose. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore who can benefit from allergy nasal sprays, the different types available, potential side effects, and when to use each type.

Dr Kim - Steroid Nasal Sprays

Dr Roger Henderson

Chief Content Officer

If you’ve tried over-the-counter pharmacy products and you’re not getting on top of your symptoms, book an appointment with your doctor. They will assess your symptoms and what you’ve tried already, and work out the best solution for you. 

They may prescribe a stronger antihistamine tablet or steroid nasal spray. You should also see your doctor if you’ve been on antihistamine tablets for three months or more – they may advise you to change the brand or try another treatment.

Hay Fever – When to see your doctor

Doctor’s advice

What if I'm pregnant?

When should I see my doctor more urgently?

Pharmacist recommended products

What if its not hay fever?

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