Hayfever

[AndyA]

Hi, Im sure this has been asked before but i couldnt find it a search. Im only just starting out diving and know that you should not dive if you have a cold but I get mild hayfever at times so should you dive if you are suffering from hayfever.

[JamesW]

I just loved John's white suit.

[steven]

Hi, Im sure this has been asked before but i couldnt find it a search. Im only just starting out diving and know that you should not dive if you have a cold but I get mild hayfever at times so should you dive if you are suffering from hayfever.

if you can equalise your ears you should be ok.

I suffer from hayfever and dive with no ill effect.

I also take medication for the hayfever trialed on RAF pilots (so my GP said) for the usability in 'pressure' situations!
and he had me trial them for diving!

Also they pass with my BSAC medical referee

steven

[Ron Evans]

if you can equalise your ears you should be ok.

I suffer from hayfever and dive with no ill effect.

I also take medication for the hayfever trialed on RAF pilots (so my GP said) for the usability in 'pressure' situations!
and he had me trial them for diving!

Also they pass with my BSAC medical referee

steven

Tell me the name of this medication, and I will try and find out if this is the true about the RAF.

[Ed Howarth]

On the other side of the coin, I used to suffer from hayfever years ago, and just couldn't equalise at all. Granted, when I got it, it was bad and all I wanted to do was lie down and groan.

It seemed I grew out of it when I was 45. :D

Ed

[Tony_W]

Hi, Im sure this has been asked before but i couldnt find it a search. Im only just starting out diving and know that you should not dive if you have a cold but I get mild hayfever at times so should you dive if you are suffering from hayfever.

I just dose up with Clarityn as normal and haven't had any prob's. Although a full powered hayfever induced sneeze could be entertaining I guess - hold onto your reg and fill your mask with ermmm 'cleaning' fluid :eek:

[c0nners]

I'm a fellow sufferer and can say that you'll soon look forward to boat diving for the summer relief it gives. As soon as we motor away from the shore all my hay fever drops off. Add to that a period of sucking filtered air and you'll be right. :)

As soon as you get back to the carpark thou it will all come back. :o

[steven]

Tell me the name of this medication, and I will try and find out if this is the true about the RAF.

Telfast 120 - fexofenadine

out of interest - if you are - I work the majority of the time outside and my "hayfever season" starts with tree pollen about April and runs all the way through the various other pollens in this country to September. Telfast is the most effective treatment I have used and one that doesn't make me sleepy.

[Ron Evans]

Telfast 120 - fexofenadine

out of interest - if you are - I work the majority of the time outside and my "hayfever season" starts with tree pollen about April and runs all the way through the various other pollens in this country to September. Telfast is the most effective treatment I have used and one that doesn't make me sleepy.

Steven,

The drug's website, fexofenadine.com, has no entry to show any study on pilots. If the study was going to be put anywhere, it would be there. The drug companies always like to blow their own trumpet! Testing a possibly sedating drug on pilots would seem to be a rather brave choice of subject - I don't think Sir Humphrey would approve.

If you want to know a little more about this drug, look at http://www.nyrdtc.org/docs/nde/Fexofena.pdf , which is one health authority's assessment of the different medications.

If it gives you hope, you should eventually grow out of your hay fever - but it took me twenty years!! In my experience, only folks who have it themselves realise how awful it is.;)

[steven]

Steven,

The drug's website, fexofenadine.com, has no entry to show any study on pilots. If the study was going to be put anywhere, it would be there. The drug companies always like to blow their own trumpet! Testing a possibly sedating drug on pilots would seem to be a rather brave choice of subject - I don't think Sir Humphrey would approve.

If you want to know a little more about this drug, look at http://www.nyrdtc.org/docs/nde/Fexofena.pdf , which is one health authority's assessment of the different medications.

If it gives you hope, you should eventually grow out of your hay fever - but it took me twenty years!! In my experience, only folks who have it themselves realise how awful it is.;)

a rough estimate - i've had it at least 35 years now......

the GP who gave me the info re the RAF is now no longer living!
but he monitored me carefully as I began diving and strangely all the other medication that I have had for hayfever stopped being effective after a couple of years whereas this still is effective several years on!

maybe I won't look but thanks anyway

Steven

[Fred]

If it gives you hope, you should eventually grow out of your hay fever - but it took me twenty years!! In my experience, only folks who have it themselves realise how awful it is.;)

Please how long is eventually?

I have suffered for more than 50 years :mad:

I use Piriton which for me have no side effects, but are reputed to cause drowsiness.So check them out first.
Also I find that breathing air that has been filtered ( from a compressor ) is beneficial

[Gary Sedgwick]

Telfast 120 - fexofenadine

out of interest - if you are - I work the majority of the time outside and my "hayfever season" starts with tree pollen about April and runs all the way through the various other pollens in this country to September. Telfast is the most effective treatment I have used and one that doesn't make me sleepy.

I'd like to throw in my support for Telfast. I used to get very severe hay fever, I still have the odd really bad day but usually confined to a few days in the year. I usually suffer most with tree pollen in April - I think it's oak and birch I'm allergic to, it's worth working out which trees/plants affect you as you can get detailed info about when their pollen seasons are. I used to take Allereze, I tried all the others (Clarityn [sp?], Piriton, etc.) but stuck with Allereze as it was most effective. Then I went to my doctor who said "forget the over the counter stuff" and prescribed Telfast - and life was a lot more enjoyable after that!

In terms of diving - I've not experienced many problems, my first significant one was actually a couple of weeks ago down in Vobster. I had mild hay fever, could equalise fine, but had a little pain in my sinuses during descents (I was teaching Ocean Diver lessons, so lots of ups & downs!). It turned out my sinuses were really unhappy, and I ended up with red in the mask nose pocket after each ascent. Just unpleasant rather than being painful! :eek:

NB for those that don't know - motion sickness medicines (e.g. Stugeron) are usually in the family of antihistimines, therefore your hay fever medication covers you for that too. In fact you shouldn't take both (unless your doctor tells you to). Telfast, being prescription medicine, should be a lot stronger than usual motion sickness medicine.

Also - Clarityn etc. are brand names for drugs that can be bought over the counter for a fraction of the price (like paying for paracetamol instead of Panadol), so you can save yourself some money by finding out the name of the drug and asking for that instead. ;)

[Gary Sedgwick]

Actually I have a quick question about prescription medicine that someone might have an answer to - I get 60 Telfast tablets at each prescription (I take them throughout the year), when I transferred doctor a year ago they gave a first prescription of 30 before I noticed and requested 60 again. Obviously as it's a prescription the cost is the same whether it's 30 or 60 tablets, so the more you can be prescribed the cheaper they are... is there a maximum that can be prescribed at one time?

[Mike Halligan]

Actually I have a quick question about prescription medicine that someone might have an answer to - I get 60 Telfast tablets at each prescription (I take them throughout the year), when I transferred doctor a year ago they gave a first prescription of 30 before I noticed and requested 60 again. Obviously as it's a prescription the cost is the same whether it's 30 or 60 tablets, so the more you can be prescribed the cheaper they are... is there a maximum that can be prescribed at one time?

I'd suggest that National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence or its forebears will have had something to say when Telfast was licensed, but that Primary Care Trusts are the most influential voice as they seem to be in the driving seat with most GPs.

A while ago, almost all of this was left to the Prescription Pricing Authority alone. The practical limit for chronic medication is an 8 week supply (at least it is with my mob) and otherwise seems to be 2 patient-packs. In my experience, this has been the same since the 1980s (when I was examining pharmacists' books).

HTH

[steven]

Please how long is eventually?

I have suffered for more than 50 years :mad:

I use Piriton which for me have no side effects, but are reputed to cause drowsiness.So check them out first.
Also I find that breathing air that has been filtered ( from a compressor ) is beneficial

Whereas piriton knock me out or they did when I took them!!!

dont you get some funny looks walking down the street breathing from a cylinder?? ;)

[steven]

Actually I have a quick question about prescription medicine that someone might have an answer to - I get 60 Telfast tablets at each prescription (I take them throughout the year), when I transferred doctor a year ago they gave a first prescription of 30 before I noticed and requested 60 again. Obviously as it's a prescription the cost is the same whether it's 30 or 60 tablets, so the more you can be prescribed the cheaper they are... is there a maximum that can be prescribed at one time?

most they will let me have is 30 a month - I've been told thats the maximum I can have because I only take one a day. But small price to pay for the relief I get!

steven

[SilvaFish]

Get a prescription pre-payment certificate, it works out cheaper! I've used Telfast back in the days of college, when I was really bad, but now am banned from them as apparently they are bad for women of child-bearing age. Can't take any other antihistamine as the rest of them make me really drowsy (apart from the old Piriton at a push), so have become a steroid ab- sorry, user when things get too bad. Which means more narcosis!

Lou

[Fred]

dont you get some funny looks walking down the street breathing from a cylinder?? ;)

I get funny looks whatever I do, :p

[dfcolvard]

Since another medical product has been mentioned in this forum, I thought you might be interested in a non-medication product that I studied in divers that is now being used by both scuba divers and freedivers. There are a lot of products out there, but I find this one to be especially convenient for travelers and divers.

Large volume nasal Irrigation reported to be an effective natural alternative to decongestants for many recreational divers who have nasal congestion and difficulty equalizing pressure in their middle ears


RALEIGH, NC. – April 3, 2007 – A study by David F. Colvard, MD, of Raleigh, North Carolina, showed that large volume nasal irrigation can help in solving a very common problem faced by recreational scuba divers.

Middle “ear squeeze” caused by difficulty equalizing the pressure in ears during descent and ascent is among the most common problems in recreational scuba divers. Most divers use pre-dive decongestants (in oral, spray or drops form) to help equalize pressure in their middle ears and sinuses. However by performing a large volume nasal irrigation, experienced divers achieved middle ear pressure equalization with a reduced usage of decongestant medications. Some even reported to have discontinued using decongestants.

Between November 2005 and September 2006 one hundred (100) scuba divers completed web-based “Before” and “After” questionnaires. They were invited to participate based on a diver safety survey conducted in 2004 by Dr. Colvard. Only those divers who reported difficulty equalizing the pressure in their middle ears or were using decongestants were invited to participate in the study. After completing the “Before” questionnaire, the study participants were sent free samples of NeilMed’s SINUS RINSE™ buffered saline nasal irrigation system. They completed the “After” questionnaire after using the product and completing the diving.

Study highlights include the following:
 Forty-four (44.0%) reported less nasal congestion after using SINUS RINSE™ system.
 Sixty-nine (69.0%) reported reduced difficulty in clearing or equalizing their ears.
 Forty-one of 68 divers (60.3%) who used oral decongestants reported decreased use, or discontinued use completely.
 Twenty-one of 38 divers (55.3%) who used decongestant sprays or nasal drops reported decreased use, or discontinued use completely.
 None reported increased use of decongestants in any form.
 Seventy-two (72.0%) were satisfied with their experience and indicated that they would recommend the SINUS RINSE™ system to other divers.

Experienced scuba divers continue to dive despite the medical risk of nasal congestion and difficulty clearing or equalizing the pressure in their middle ears. Buffered saline nasal irrigation can effectively and safely reduce nasal congestion and decrease the frequency and difficulty in clearing or equalizing the pressure in the middle ears of many divers. Additionally, nasal irrigation can decrease the use of decongestants, either oral or spray or drops, and reduce the risk of rebound congestion and reverse middle ear squeeze, during, or after a dive when the effect of the decongestants may have worn off.

WARNING: DO NOT RINSE IF NASAL PASSAGE IS COMPLETELY BLOCKED OR IF YOU HAVE AN EAR INFECTION OR BLOCKED EARS.
This study was sponsored by NeilMed Pharmaceuticals.

[SilvaFish]

Having just read the research post above, I forgot to mention to have a look into using a Neti Pot (it's a Yoga practice of nasal passage / sinus irrigation) - I perform this using half a litre of salt water (2 teaspoons of pure salt (ie no additives) per litre of water at body temp or warmer), after gardening, and I find it works a treat! Otherwise I use it when I get bad or when I remember...

Lou

[Matt-75]

I have various allergies and take Piriton for them, and have done for years now.

In a normal person they will make you drowsy, but for someone who regularly takes them those effects disappear with time. I tend not to take them before diving, but it is probably moot due to the amount that is likely still in my system. But they are the only anti-histamine tablets that work for me.

I have used Telfast before and for a fairly non drowsy solution they might suit some people. Also Clarityn should be ok for some people. But for me neither of those work to a satifactory level.

SilvaFish, have you tried Piriteze?

[SilvaFish]

I have various allergies and take Piriton for them, and have done for years now.

In a normal person they will make you drowsy, but for someone who regularly takes them those effects disappear with time. I tend not to take them before diving, but it is probably moot due to the amount that is likely still in my system. But they are the only anti-histamine tablets that work for me.

I have used Telfast before and for a fairly non drowsy solution they might suit some people. Also Clarityn should be ok for some people. But for me neither of those work to a satifactory level.

SilvaFish, have you tried Piriteze?
I have given away many over-the-counter antihistamines over the years becuase have not found one that agree with me AND work sufficently.

I have tried Piriteze and if I can remember correctly, I got a very good night's sleep after feeling very groggy that day. I've tried countless over the counter stuff, and no joy apart from Piriton, which doesn't make me drowsy (makes me extremely thirsty though), but found that I had to take above the dosage over time to get benefits. My most recent (2001!) tablet is one from the GP called Mistamine, and that knocked me out for 18 hours! That was an expensive tablet, at £6.25 per pop, as I chucked them to the back of the kitchen cupboard after that. Even on half a tablet (by suggestion of GP), I didn't feel clear headed.

My Grandmother is the same as me - can't take antihistamines, so I blame yet another weird gene! I have also tried the Rhinolast nosespray from the GP recently (a higher dose one than what you can buy), and it is no coincidence that I feel 'narked at 0' on those, even though I stuck it out for a week and on the days that I decided to 'miss a dose', my head cleared. Helped the hayfever, but I rather have a clear head. So the bottle is sat by the PC monitor and hadn't been moved for a month...

Lou

[steven]

Having just read the research post above, I forgot to mention to have a look into using a Neti Pot (it's a Yoga practice of nasal passage / sinus irrigation) - I perform this using half a litre of salt water (2 teaspoons of pure salt (ie no additives) per litre of water at body temp or warmer), after gardening, and I find it works a treat! Otherwise I use it when I get bad or when I remember...

Lou

I'm not sure I really want to know... but anyway

how do you irrigate your sinuses????

since my hayfever is flaring nicely now after working out in the countryside for a 22hr stint!!!!

not sure if it was walking through grass up to my waist - rape seed to my neck or helping clear trees out of power lines or just the constant exposure from being there!!!!
anyway I'll try anything once!!

steven

[jon-boi]

I used to use Zirtec (esp as Tesco's sell it quite cheaply!). When I first used it is was still a POM but obviously was downgraded afte a while.

I have now found that it doesn't work so this year my GP has given me Telfast 180 which does seem to help, no drowsiness and no itchy throat! I do also still take Beconase (again I started on this when it was POM in little glass bottles). Without the Beconase my noce would stay itchy/runny regardless of what pills I was taking....

As for nasak irrigation it seems that you can do the old sailors trick of sniffing salt water but modern packs supply a little pot in which you can make your salt solution and then pour it through your nostrils whilst over a sink...benefits are claimed to be, cleaning out any allergens, cleaning any encrustations, refreshing the cillia and making the pH on the soft tissue/mucus less enticing to bugs and such like....since when was water up the nose nice though.... ?:eek:

[SilvaFish]

Isotonic water at body temp up my nose I actually find very soothing. Especially when the itching stops. I'm not going to describe how much crud I can usually get out after pouring a pot through my nostrils, but I once put in only half the amount of salt (by accident) and it stung like hell, so the amount of salt HAS to be right. Sea water is too salty BTW.

For the not so squeamish, :D
http://netipot.org/demo_video.htm

[steven]

Isotonic water at body temp up my nose I actually find very soothing. Especially when the itching stops. I'm not going to describe how much crud I can usually get out after pouring a pot through my nostrils, but I once put in only half the amount of salt (by accident) and it stung like hell, so the amount of salt HAS to be right. Sea water is too salty BTW.

For the not so squeamish, :D
http://netipot.org/demo_video.htm

YUK
I'll stick to the tablets!!

[Andy Botten]

Large volume nasal Irrigation reported to be an effective natural alternative to decongestants for many recreational divers who have nasal congestion and difficulty equalizing pressure in their middle ears...
...NeilMed’s SINUS RINSE™ buffered saline nasal irrigation system.

I was told over 30 years ago fill your mask with seawater and sniff...

It make your eyes water :eek: but does clear it out.
This just looks like the old advice with a posh label (and probably high price)

I too have grown out of it - eventually.