Pollen!!!

Anyone else suffering 20 mins in garden and i am running for my inhaler feeling asthough i have run a marathon

Your thoughts & ideas

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Hey Lola,

I don't have any clever suggestions unfortunately, other than perhaps visiting GP to see if they can do anything?

I can sympathise though!! I keep flaring (even on pred!) cos of the pollen!!

Take care! Laura x

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Probably a stupid question - have you tried any OTC antihistamines?

If they don't help you could ask your GP if there are any other antihistamines you could try - if the hayfever part of your asthma gets under control maybe you'll be able to enjoy your garden

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i can take some antihistamines but i reaact to some others also i have cardiac problems and i have to be careful which ones i take i will have to look into it more as i love gardening !! when i not running for my inhaler that is lol

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if you are able to nose breathe then thats supposed to help stop some of the triggers getting into your lungs, i find i cant keep up if im moving around and nose breathing but i know some people benefit. I guess maybe something to cover your mouth and nose might help....

Antihistamines are probs your best bet, so might be worth discussing that with GP. Plus the possibility of pre-treating before you garden??

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Pollen is a pesky one for me.

My suggestions are:

See your gp - managing hayfever can really help keep asthma stable

Nasal spray: Really helps me as helps treat stuffy nose etc.

Antihistamines - obviously take onesd that dont react with your heart stuff.

and a strange but useful one if you breathe through your nose, putting Vaseline on inside of nose can help as it acts as 'barrier' to pollen.

good luck! And hope for all our sakes that the pollen count drops soon!

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You are certainly not alone - I have been struggling for weeks and think it is mainly due to hay fever. In fact whenever I contact the doctors they ask ""are you taking your hay fever meds?"" I recently saw my consultant and she emphasised the importance of treating my hay fever (as my IgE results confirmed this was probably a big trigger) which is why I get the above comment. I also think the changing weather is another trigger at the moment.

I also can't take many antihistamines (particularly OTC ones) as I react badly to them. However, my asthma nurse told me that nasal sprays are often preferable. I have recently changed to Avamys which I have previously used for sinusitis but I believe this made a difference to my symptoms (apparently it is also good for itchy eyes!)

I would also recommend using Vaseline to trap the pollen and you can get something called Haymax which is more expensive but I think more pleasant. This allowed me to have half an hour in the garden on Monday! However saying that I walked by the river to pick up a prescription today and felt like I had run there! My GP said the other day that it is a strange hay fever season as some people are not reacting at all and others are very bad (all to do with the late Spring and what she called 'Pollen Boom').