Hit hayfever with new nasal sprays

The recent windy weather along the east coast of Australia has been extreme. Nevertheless, the combination of wind and pollinating plants each year about this time, clearly signals the start of the hayfever season.

Hayfever is often thought of as a trivial condition – just a sniffle and a sneeze. In fact, for the hayfever sufferer, the impact on quality of life can be enormous, and the economic effects are significant too.

Medically speaking, hayfever is known as allergic rhinitis. Rhinitis literally means inflammation of the nasal passages; but this description is not really an adequate indication of the havoc that hayfever can cause.

The allergic inflammatory process doesn’t stop at the nose. The symptoms of hayfever are many and varied. Typically they include sneezing, a clear nasal discharge, watery, itchy eyes, itchy throat, blocked nose and, not surprisingly, lack of energy. Headache sometimes occurs and the sense of smell can also be affected.

While none of these symptoms would appear to be life threatening, they can certainly have a serious adverse effect on the productivity of work or study, and destroy the enjoyment of leisure activities.

Hayfever is a global health problem. It affects about 25% of the world’s population. In Australia the situation is even worse, with about 40% of adults in this country showing allergy symptoms – usually allergic rhinitis. This makes hayfever the most common chronic condition for people consulting their doctor.

Traditionally, hayfever has been classified according to when and why it occurs. It has been known as seasonal (usually related to the pollen season – beginning about now), perennial (meaning all-year round) and occupational (people working in some industries, perhaps in a bakery or on a farm, may be sensitive to the substances they breathe in at their place of employment).

A new classification describes hayfever as intermittent, where symptoms occur only now and again and persistent where the symptoms are evident for more than four weeks a year or four days a week.

Hayfever is further divided into mild or moderate to severe. In the latter case work, school or leisure activities are impaired or sleep is disturbed.

This way of describing hayfever symptoms is especially useful in Australia where the spring and summer allergy “season” can extend from August through to March and our mild weather enables the house dust mite (a likely trigger factor for hayfever) to live happily with us throughout the year.

Oral antihistamines are particularly useful for the runny nose and the sneezing. The second-generation antihistamines such as Claratyne, Telfast and Zyrtec are safe and effective, and their once-daily dosage makes them a convenient choice for the mild and intermittent symptoms of hayfever. The antihistamines Azep and Livostin nasal sprays are useful alternatives. They have a similar effect to the oral antihistamines with a faster onset of action.

For moderate to severe and persistent hayfever symptoms, the so-called intra-nasal corticosteroid sprays are the best option. They are effective against the wide range of symptoms including that so-difficult-to-treat nasal congestion. Products in this category include Aldecin, Allermax, Beconase and Rhinocort.