13 July 2009

The wattle's in bloom - hayfever remedies?

| johnboy
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[First filed: July 10, 2009 @ 10:25]

Canberra’s wattles are popping open their little balls of golden pollen goodness.

It’s nice to get these harbingers of spring as we slough through the cold dark days.

But it’s not good news for the hayfever sufferers who will soon be sniffling the day away and at risk of being carted away for swine flu testing.

If you are afflicted by hayfever, what do you find works to alleviate your suffering?

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I suffered terribly with hayfever every spring/summer for nearly forty years here in Canberra. Then three years ago I stopped eating wheat and gluten products. (I was skin prick tested as a child and was shown to be allergic to all the grasses native to Canberra but not especially to wheat)

Within a few days I felt a wonderful sense of new energy and I lost 12kgs over the next month although I did not exercise. (I guess it was fluid) I have never looked back and I have never had hay fever again either. There are so many gluten free products on the market now it is easy to avoid it.

It’s worth a try if you really suffer like I did, and I save a fortune on medications and my life is so much better now.

Strangely, I am allergic to the aloe vera tissues a pp referred to, thankfully I don’t need shares in Kleenex any longer 😉

GardeningGirl11:02 pm 12 Jul 09

I didn’t know that Ant 🙁

Yeah, they should be testing it, for sure. Whenever I hear people declare that the peanut allergy is “new”, I feel sad. It’s not that new. It’s just that so many kids didn’t survive childhood with it. No one had a clue. I missed man landing on the moon because some stupid woman had fed me a peanut butter sandwich.

gun street girl10:39 pm 11 Jul 09

Don’t quote me on that; I don’t often have a reason to be prescribing EpiPens, so I might be mistaken as to how strict the PBS criteria are. Nevertheless, thankfully the vast majority of allergies don’t precipitate anaphylaxis – so handing out EpiPens to all and sundry could pose a problem (or, at the very least, a few Pulp Fiction moments).

That’s interesting. I was prescribed the vial of adrenaline by my old Dr, at ANU. I had to practise on an orange… Had to use it a few times, too, before eschewing Chinese restaurants for ever.

Quite frankly, if you’re born with the allergy, you don’t want to have to have “proof” of an anaphalactic attack because the chances are, you won’t survive it anyway.

As for rhinitis, Canberra does bring it on because of all the deciduous trees, probably the pines and cypress, and the dreaded rye grass.

gun street girl10:10 pm 11 Jul 09

ant said :

gun street girl said :

FYI, Ray Mullins isn’t the only immunologist practicing in the ACT – certainly isn’t a lone guru who sits atop a mountain, controlling all the EpiPens in the region! 😛

There’s other allergists? ddin’t know that. For years doctors would say I should have an epi-pen, but no one ever got me one, and after my current GP went through the rigmarole (she’s brilliant), I realise why. Holy crap. (For years I made do with an Aids bus needle, and a vial of adrenalin, and then they invented epi pens).

My supply is now safe, he did some prick tests on my arm, adn one went ballistic, and it was the peanut one!

Mullins is good, I like the way he’s studying allergies as well as treating them.

Yup, there’s a whole department of Immunology (complete with its own ongoing research – all a part of academic medicine) at TCH. Challenge tests and desensitisations are fairly commonplace procedures (in amongst more hardcore hospital based immunology work).

If memory serves, EpiPen authority scripts can also be doled out by paediatricians and respiratory physicians, though I seem to also recall that PBS authority also requires that the patient has needed adrenaline and an ED presentation for anaphylaxis in the past.

rhinocort and horseradish and garlic tablets works for my family….tastes gross but works

gun street girl said :

FYI, Ray Mullins isn’t the only immunologist practicing in the ACT – certainly isn’t a lone guru who sits atop a mountain, controlling all the EpiPens in the region! 😛

There’s other allergists? ddin’t know that. For years doctors would say I should have an epi-pen, but no one ever got me one, and after my current GP went through the rigmarole (she’s brilliant), I realise why. Holy crap. (For years I made do with an Aids bus needle, and a vial of adrenalin, and then they invented epi pens).

My supply is now safe, he did some prick tests on my arm, adn one went ballistic, and it was the peanut one!

Mullins is good, I like the way he’s studying allergies as well as treating them.

I take a vitamin made up of garlic, horseradish and vit C and if I take it all year round it really helps reduce the severity of hayfever – and is also very effective at keeping colds from developing into worse in the cold months.

Hayfever can be torture and can really ruin spring/summer (depending on your poison) in Canberra. ‘Apparently’ Canberra is one of the worse places in the world for allergy sufferers. I would love to be desensitised… or to move to the coast where I breath much easier.

gun street girl8:05 pm 11 Jul 09

ant said :

He’s the guy who controls access to the epi-pens (GPs prescribing them have to go through him to get a pen via teh PBS), and tests people, and devises mg’t plans. Chap by the name of Mullins. He also is studying allergies, and runs desensitisation programs, but we decided for me it wasn’t really necessary, the one I did in the 80s is working quite well.

FYI, Ray Mullins isn’t the only immunologist practicing in the ACT – certainly isn’t a lone guru who sits atop a mountain, controlling all the EpiPens in the region! 😛

+1 for Prof Mullins.

Funny I never had hayfever until I moved to Canberra from central west NSW. I used to blame all the pine trees around Canberra (ever see the clouds of pollen being blown out of them on a hot summers day?). Funnily my hayfever hasnt seemed so bad since the summer of 03….maybe its all in my head (lol)

Actually warm salty water works by rinsing the pollen out of your sinus’s and as such removes the allergen.

I also swear by the green telfast once a day.

Thanks ant and baldilocks (great name btw)! I think I will look in to that. Mainly for vanity’s sake 🙂 Sick of the red nose and dark circles under my eyes. I could pay with the savings in makeup!!

I had the desensitising program from Prof Mullins some years ago. Fantastic results – about the best medical treatment I’ve had. Used to have several months each year having bad sneezing fits – no more and I probably sneeze no more than a couple of times each season. Feel as though I have gained a couple of extra months living each year.

As I am also allergic to anti histamines, I didn’t really have much choice as to what to do.

From memory, you start out having injections every week for about three months, then every fortnight, then every month, (then 3 months?)with the program lasting for about 3 years.

Some patience required, but results worth it.

Injections were done by the nurse at my local GP. I think the medicines cost about $150 each 6 mths (or was it per year), with the regular injection cost covered by medicare.

Highly recommended & Prof Ray Mullins (at John James) is excellent.

bellaa said :

What does a desensitisation program consist of?? I have a heap of allergies – none of them serious, just annoying. Grass is the worst. I would love to think I could be desensitised!

I can’t remember if it’s oral, or injection. He’s the guy who controls access to the epi-pens (GPs prescribing them have to go through him to get a pen via teh PBS), and tests people, and devises mg’t plans. Chap by the name of Mullins. He also is studying allergies, and runs desensitisation programs, but we decided for me it wasn’t really necessary, the one I did in the 80s is working quite well.

Although the perfumes thing is becoming an issue, some cause instant migraines and when you ask the wearers to wear less of it, they get offended.

housebound said :

For many people, they find that their hayfever is at its worst on those dry days with a north-westerly wind. This is probably the grasses – especially phalaris and rye grass. .

Yep, blowing in from the SW slopes and Riverina. I’ve recently acquired several bags of Phalaris Australia and a pasture mix containing some Rye, but what can you do? These are grasses taht will grow in this dry environment. Although the Phalaris has been pathetic so far.

I plan to also get some Poa Tussock seed, it’s pricy but that’s the main grass growing here. That doesn’t seem to cause hayfever.

Timberwolf657:24 am 11 Jul 09

mp2615 said :

I agree. Native species are not the problem. For what it’s worth I used “sabba dilla” (phonetic spell) and it worked a treat. cheap, natural and readily available from the Hierophant in Griffith.

The Hierophant is a great place, They sell many a magical potion there.

Gin02 said :

warm salty water up the nose daily works a charm!

That’s disgusting, and it doesn’t really work.

#18 – People lump all native species together, usually not really thinking about the native grasses. They’re probably no more or less evil than their introduced grassy cousins, but there just aren’t the same amount flowering at any given time (unless, I guess, you went out to the Alps or the Mitchell grasslands).

warm salty water up the nose daily works a charm!

I’ve found that after living in Canberra for a while I’m no longer affected by hayfever. Mind you, it did take over 15 years.

Mrs Deano is sensitive to olive pollen, which is surprisingly common in Canberra.

I got de-sensitised to a lot of things when I was young, and the local allergist (at John James) is pushing an up-to-date desensitisation program that has solid proof of helping.

What does a desensitisation program consist of?? I have a heap of allergies – none of them serious, just annoying. Grass is the worst. I would love to think I could be desensitised!

The cat did it7:45 pm 10 Jul 09

Oooh- touchy, housebound. Hope that wasn’t the result of personal experience with said drug.

No, the trials would be the rigorously designed things that test a variety of potential allergens (from both exotic and native species, maybe including local acacias) on a representative sample of the population.

There seems to be a commonly held belief that nasty exotic plants cause hayfever, but cuddly native species don’t. The same way that some people keep telling us to plant natives, because they’ll be more drought resistant- they obviously haven’t noticed all the dead eucalypts around Canberra. I’d just like to know what actual research has been done to investigate the allergic potential of native species.

Medical trials – they would be the things that drug companies try before releasing arthritis medications that kill people?

The cat did it5:36 pm 10 Jul 09

mp2615 said :

I agree. Native species are not the problem. ….

Has this been proven by medical trials, or is it another Tim and Debbie-style assertion that’s gained credence by repetition?

Can’t go past Quercetin to build immunity and to deal with symptoms. Available at some health food stores and on the internet

androo said :

and yet there is growing evidence that grass pollen contributes far more towards hay fever than wattle.

Yep. Spot on. Everyone blames the wattle, but it is very likely something else causing rhinitis, probably the dreaded rye grass which is everywhere. That said, certain pollens do affect certain people.

A real nasty that people often don’t realise is the various cypress species around the place. When they release their pollens into the air, it’s misery for many.

I got de-sensitised to a lot of things when I was young, and the local allergist (at John James) is pushing an up-to-date desensitisation program that has solid proof of helping. I should check adn see if he does stinky perfumes, some of those are dreadful and you can’t get away from them.

I had all the allergy tests when I was young, turns out I had major reactions many of Canberra’s grasses, yay. Wattles also send my allergies crazy. Within minutes of walking past one in full bloom I start sneezing and my eyes start pouring. It is unbearable.

I use rhinocort nosespray (over the counter only) seasonally, and on really, really bad days I take a laratadine tablet (the generic claratyne)too. I never use rhinocort all year around, and intentionally give my body a break from it.

It is the only thing (and I’ve tried many things) that works – for me. It does have a lead in time and I often find it takes up to 5 days to have an effect and then all I need is a spray up each nostril in the morning for the duration of the hayfever season.

Unlike beconase (and other relief nose sprays) you do not become desensitised to rhinocort in a short amount of time. But rhinocort is a steroid, so there are different issues to take into account, and it’s another reason I give it a break between seasons.

If there was a way to manage my allergies successfully without drugs I’d do it, but I got sick of trying when I found something that worked.

Also, aloe vera tissues. Since they appeared on the market I haven’t needed to deal with the cracked and peeling nostrils issue from so much sneezing and blowing.

Gungahlin Al2:55 pm 10 Jul 09

Beconase. Over at least a month it will lead to desensitisation. Take it with a symptom treatment as well until it is kicking in. Long-lasting, if not permanent, relief.

A slice of pineapple (tinned is OK)first thing in the morning. Cheap, tasty and effective.

A little off topic, but I’ve been looking for a wattle essence/oil for the last few years with no luck. Any ideas on where you can obtain the smell in liquid form?

If you are afflicted by hayfever, what do you find works to alleviate your suffering?

* I chop it down or move lol

Agree with the others on acacia pollen – it’s generally not the culprit. It’s got to do with the size of the pollen grains themselves, or so I’ve ben told.

For many people, they find that their hayfever is at its worst on those dry days with a north-westerly wind. This is probably the grasses – especially phalaris and rye grass. Locally, plantain pollen is also a major allergen, wreaking more havoc on hayfever sufferers than any forest of acacia could manage (hence bad reactions in a fenzied weekend of suburban lawnmowing). Other places I’ve lived, the ‘dust’ from the crop harvest has also been bad at times – but I couldn’t see that being an issue here.

All that said, one friend swears by a daily glass of pineapple juice and a vitamin C supplement. His job required him to stomp around in farm paddocks and it seemed to work for him. The only thing is that you have to take this all year round.

barking toad12:32 pm 10 Jul 09

“This here’s the wattle
it’s the emblem of our land
you can stick it in a bottle
or hold it in your hand!”

(crack tube)

sorry – couldn’t resist

There’s a couple who sell Queanbeyan honey at the Southside Farmers Markets, and it’s the best honey I’ve had for a long time!

Yep im with Rottweiler, local honey is the best!

Find a local bee keeper buy a pot of honey and have 1 teaspoon daily, Honey contains traces of the pollen from which it was made, so honey from your local area should contain the pollen that causes your allergenic reaction. By consuming it you are encouraging your body to build up a natural immunity or tolerance to it.

I think the issue is less the wattle pollen as the other species with less flamboyant blooms also getting to work.

I agree. Native species are not the problem. For what it’s worth I used “sabba dilla” (phonetic spell) and it worked a treat. cheap, natural and readily available from the Hierophant in Griffith.

and yet there is growing evidence that grass pollen contributes far more towards hay fever than wattle.

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