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Wow! The title of this blog literally sums up what I’ve had today and it has been a little bit scary.
I suffer hayfever really badly between May and July and, because we’ve had such glorious weather this spring, it’s been unbearable.
Now, I’ve tried so many different antihistimines in the past but I’ve always found that Benadryl works the best for me. The one-a-day tablets don’t even touch my hayfever, so I have to use the fast-action tablets that kick in after 15 mins.
If you’re a hayfever sufferer like me, I know you will sympathise when I tell you that I’ve had bad bouts of the following:
- constant runny nose – seriously, it’s been like a tap and has resulted in my nose being sore because I’m constantly blowing it
- itchy, gritty, sore, watery eyes – ripping them out to scratch them has not been an option
- itchy throat and itchy ears – same as above! I feel like getting one of those bristly brushes used to clean narrow bottles and give my tonsils a quick scratch
- sneezing – Lee will say ‘bless you’ the first three times, then it’s “you’re taking the p*** now” ?
So, those are the classics that are mentioned on numerous medical sites so people are aware of how we suffer. What they don’t tell you about are the extra symptoms…
- drowsiness caused by stronger hayfever tablets (Benadryl being one of them)
- pollen actually being stuck inside your nose and you have to dig it out
- pollen in the nose causing nose bleeds
- clumps of pollen being visible inside your eyelids
- stringy pollen being attached to your eyeballs (I’ve even used salt water to clear my eyes in the past)
- strong hayfever tablets causing vivid dreams and hallucinations (poor Lee can’t get a wink of sleep at the mo)
- becoming very drunk after two alcoholic drinks and people thinking you’re either a lightweight or a drunken buffoon
I think that’s all of the next layer!? Others may suffer different side effects too. Please share in the comments if you do!
Then, we have the final layer. The hardcore layer that’s left me in a bit of a scary situation today.
As I said, Benadryl is my weapon of choice when combatting hayfever symptoms and I recommend it to any other sufferers as it really does reduce said symptoms quickly. I also found some Opticrom Hayfever eye drops in Tesco the other day which are AMAZING!! They stop the itching within ten minutes (once you get past the invasive feeling of something being in your eyes. I described it to my brother as feeling like you’ve put a contact lens in and it’s gotten crumpled up… I think it must be reacting to the pollen once it goes in). I also have an Olbas inhaler nasal stick and some Vicks nasal spray. I now realise that this is a lot to take at the same time, but my symptoms were so severe and they helped…at first.
Now, I realise that I had taken too much of everything over the past few days – the Benadryl tablets are recommended for every 8 hours but, just before bed, I would pop a final one in order to be able to sleep. Well, today, I woke up with what I can only describe as a hayfever hangover. My usual hayfever symptoms were back so I had my morning Benadryl… by 10:30am, I felt like I needed to go back to bed. I even fell asleep on the sofa for a short while.
Once I woke up at 1:30pm, I felt as if I couldn’t move my head from the pillow. I felt nauseated and thirsty. I had a headache pounding behind my eyes and my ears felt full.
Once I’d come round after about half an hour, I did a Google search. Well, it turns out that Benadryl is one of the stronger, first-generation hayfever medicines and can cause sedation (and, in worst case scenarios, an overdose) if too much is taken. After my cocktail of all my tablets, eye drops and decongestants, I am going to be so much more cautious now. All of those sedation symptoms have passed now but it was a little bit scary to think that I’d innocently done this to myself because of my sodding hayfever.
So, here I am, back to square one and resisting the urge to grab that bristly brush from the kitchen drawer…
I hope all you hayfever sufferers stay safe and are able to manage your symptoms well.
Lots of Love,
Loula Bella xoxo