[Misc] Have you been hit by a POLLEN BOMB?

[Insel affe]

It seems the older I have got the worse it is, only started getting it about 5 years ago, and now, i am sneezing, bunged up, sore eyes and a headache this year. just been buying Sainsburys own brand hay fever stuff.

Does fexofenadine have side effects and can I buy it on line.

 

[durrington gull]

Tried fexofenadine?

I've just ordered! - thanks i'll give it a go

 

[BNthree]

It seems the older I have got the worse it is, only started getting it about 5 years ago, and now, i am sneezing, bunged up, sore eyes and a headache this year. just been buying Sainsburys own brand hay fever stuff.

Does fexofenadine have side effects and can I buy it on line.

You can get Allevia branded fexofenadine over the counter.

From the product info:

The following undesirable effects have been reported in clinical trials, with an incidence similar to those observed in patients who did not receive the drug (placebo).

Common side effects (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):

• headache
• drowsiness
• feeling sick (nausea)
• dizziness.

Uncommon side effects (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):

• tiredness/sleepiness.

Additional side effects (frequency not known: cannot be estimated from the available data) which may occur are:

• difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
• sleeping disorders
• bad dreams
• nervousness
• fast or irregular heart beat
• diarrhoea
• skin rash and itching
• hives
• serious allergic reactions which can cause swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat, flushing, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

It seems the older I have got the worse it is, only started getting it about 5 years ago, and now, i am sneezing, bunged up, sore eyes and a headache this year. just been buying Sainsburys own brand hay fever stuff.

Does fexofenadine have side effects and can I buy it on line.

Didn't do much for me but I got Treathay from Tesco which is the same thing but cheaper. (Although now more expensive and not much cheaper than Allevia - I did get mine last year)

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/310119398

 

[Insel affe]

You can get Allevia branded fexofenadine over the counter.

From the product info:

The following undesirable effects have been reported in clinical trials, with an incidence similar to those observed in patients who did not receive the drug (placebo).

Common side effects (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):

• headache
• drowsiness
• feeling sick (nausea)
• dizziness.

Uncommon side effects (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):

• tiredness/sleepiness.

Additional side effects (frequency not known: cannot be estimated from the available data) which may occur are:

• difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
• sleeping disorders
• bad dreams
• nervousness
• fast or irregular heart beat
• diarrhoea
• skin rash and itching
• hives
• serious allergic reactions which can cause swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat, flushing, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing.

Thank you, I think I will stick with the sneezing, runny nose occasionally and a slight headache thanks

 

[Grizz]

I get zero of those side effects when taking fexofenadine. In fact I sleep so much better now that my nose isn't dripping like a tap.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Well I swapped each year after the doctor told me to, as she said your body gets use to each one, so becomes less effective. So one year it would be generic cetirizine, then the year after it would be loratadine. Neither conquered my hayfever as much as the fexofenadine has though. Now that all the early spring tree pollen has spent it's load, I'll start to phase it out. Start taking one every other day, then every third day until I only need to take one when I feel a bad day coming on.

These are all non-sedating H1 antagonists. They compete with histamine for H1 receptors. Histamine is part of the allergic cascade triggered by pollen. The body doesn't 'get used' to the antihistamine, like it is heroin. I suspect your GP is mixing up H1 antagonists (that work on respiratory allergy) and H2 antagonists (that work in the gut to trigger acid secretion). There is a tolerance phenomenon to H2 antagonists that may be related to the bacterium that triggers a lot of ulcers.

When I search web of science using antihistamine and tolerance in the title it picks up only 9 references and these are mostly about tolerance to the sedative effect of H1 antagonists (which is an off target side effect that has nothing to do with H1 receptors). If I search H1 and tolerance there are only 16 hits and the story is the same.

The only references to H1 tolerance (to anti allergy actions) I can find is on disreputable web pages such as this: https://www.verywellhealth.com/can-allergy-medicines-really-stop-working-83146. And even this one is correct in that if your H1 antihistamine 'no longer works' then you need to change the type of medicine, e.g., switch to a steroid, not try a different antihistamine.

My hunch is this is 'all in the mind', and that your doc has confused the sedative tolerance of antihistamines with the anti allergy effect. It may be that an antihistamine no longer works as well because the allergy has got worse, and that changing drug is akin to changing drug dose, and the reason for improved benefit is misunderstood by the patient.

I would be very interested in people's anecdotal evidence about antihistamines 'no longer working' and how switching to another antihistamine restored benefit. I would also be interested to hear from those who get the same benefit...

 

[Seagull58]

These are all non-sedating H1 antagonists. They compete with histamine for H1 receptors. Histamine is part of the allergic cascade triggered by pollen. The body doesn't 'get used' to the antihistamine, like it is heroin. I suspect your GP is mixing up H1 antagonists (that work on respiratory allergy) and H2 antagonists (that work in the gut to trigger acid secretion). There is a tolerance phenomenon to H2 antagonists that may be related to the bacterium that triggers a lot of ulcers.

When I search web of science using antihistamine and tolerance in the title it picks up only 9 references and these are mostly about tolerance to the sedative effect of H1 antagonists (which is an off target side effect that has nothing to do with H1 receptors). If I search H1 and tolerance there are only 16 hits and the story is the same.

The only references to H1 tolerance (to anti allergy actions) I can find is on disreputable web pages such as this: https://www.verywellhealth.com/can-allergy-medicines-really-stop-working-83146. And even this one is correct in that if your H1 antihistamine 'no longer works' then you need to change the type of medicine, e.g., switch to a steroid, not try a different antihistamine.

My hunch is this is 'all in the mind', and that your doc has confused the sedative tolerance of antihistamines with the anti allergy effect. It may be that an antihistamine no longer works as well because the allergy has got worse, and that changing drug is akin to changing drug dose, and the reason for improved benefit is misunderstood by the patient.

I would be very interested in people's anecdotal evidence about antihistamines 'no longer working' and how switching to another antihistamine restored benefit. I would also be interested to hear from those who get the same benefit...

You lost me at "non-sedating H1 antagonists". I thought it was a reference to away fans sitting in the home end.

 

[BNthree]

I get zero of those side effects when taking fexofenadine. In fact I sleep so much better now that my nose isn't dripping like a tap.

Yeah I'm the same, only have benefits from it and no side effects.