Hay Fever and Allergy Relief

Antihistamines block the histamine your body releases when pollen, dust or pet hair lands on the lining of your nose and eyes. They are the quickest fix for sneezing, a runny nose and itchy eyes, and most people feel the difference within an hour of the first tablet. Cetirizine and loratadine are the two we hand over most often. Both are once a day, both are non-drowsy for most people, and both are general sale medicines so you can pick them up from the shelf. Fexofenadine 120 mg, which used to need a prescription, is now on general sale for hay fever in anyone aged 12 and over and suits people who found the other two wore off by the evening.

Chlorphenamine, sold as Piriton, is the older sedating type. It works well for a sudden flare, for hives and for itchy insect bites, but it will make most people drowsy and it should not be taken before driving. We would not suggest it as a sleep aid on its own: the NHS says not to take a drowsy antihistamine just for sleep problems without speaking to your doctor first, and not to take it for longer than two weeks (https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/chlorphenamine-including-piriton/).

Children aged 6 and over can take cetirizine tablets, and a liquid version is available for children from 2. If one antihistamine has stopped working for you, switching to a different one often helps, and it is safe to take a non-drowsy antihistamine alongside a steroid nasal spray. Our pharmacists can check anything you already take, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or on other regular medicines.

If your eyes are the worst part of hay fever, antihistamine tablets often help but rarely clear it completely. Sodium cromoglicate eye drops, sold as Opticrom and under generic names, are used four times a day and stop the eye releasing histamine in the first place. They suit people who want to avoid tablets, and they can be used alongside a spray or an antihistamine. Antazoline with xylometazoline drops, sold as Otrivine Antistin, give faster relief but should only be used for a few days at a time.

Contact lens wearers should take lenses out before using drops and wait fifteen minutes before putting them back in, and preservative-free versions are available if you need them all season. If one eye is red, painful, sensitive to light or your vision has changed, that is not hay fever and it needs to be seen the same day.

Most hay fever is managed well with the products above, and our full guide at /blog/hayfever-treatment-medway covers how to combine them. See your GP if symptoms are still uncontrolled after a month of using an antihistamine and a steroid spray together, if you need treatment for most of the year, or if hay fever is making your asthma worse. Prescription options such as stronger sprays or a short course of steroid tablets exist for the worst weeks.

Call 999 if anyone develops swelling of the tongue or throat, difficulty breathing, or feels faint after a sting, a food or a new medicine. That is anaphylaxis and it does not wait for an antihistamine to work.