Sneezing and coughing? Runny or blocked nose? Itchy, red or watery eyes? Itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears? Tired? You may be suffering with hay fever – ’tis the season to be sneezy, after all.
If you’re a sufferer, it’s difficult to completely eradicate the reaction, but the best hay fever treatments you can buy online will help ease the symptoms.
Hay fever is a common allergic reaction to pollen from grass, trees and weeds during the early spring and summer months
Boots Pharmacist Angela Chalmers says: “If you suffer from hay fever regularly, it is important to start an anti-hay fever regime early on in the season.
“There are a number of treatments which people can try to control their hay fever symptoms, ranging from antihistamine tablets, which calm your body’s allergic reaction to pollen, to steroid nasal sprays, sodium cromoglycate eye drops and anti-allergy devices.
“Remedies such as eye drops are applied directly to the eyes and target the affected area. If you are suffering from just one symptom, such as watery eyes, you may find that this is enough. Ask your pharmacist about which treatment would be best for you.”
We’ve rounded up the best online hay fever treatments below so you can ease the sneeze as much as possible.
The top hay fever treatments you can buy online
1. Beconase Hayfever Relief Nasal Spray
Nasal sprays use tiny amounts of steroids to reduce the swelling in your nose so you can breathe more easily. They also help reduce sneezing, itching, a runny nose and itchy eyes.
This nasal spray works directly where the problem starts and its anti-inflammatory action helps reduce your discomfort quickly.
Price: £4, Amazon – buy here now
2. Stérimar Nasal Spray Stop and Protect Allergy Response
Perhaps you’re pregnant and want to use an all-natural decongestant? Enter the Sterimar Nasal Spray, a sea water-based spray that rapidly neutralises and protects against the particles (allergens, dust, pollution, pollen) responsible for allergic reactions.
Based on ingredients of natural origin, it has a rapid and effective action on the symptoms of hay fever (runny nose, sneezing, blocked nose, itchy nose, tingling, watery eyes) and helps prevent their appearance – without using steroids.
Price: £8.99, Amazon – buy here now
3. Piriteze Antihistamine Allergy Relief Tablets
If you’re not a fan of sprays, tablets are an easy alternative to relieving your hay fever symptoms.
An active ingredient and antihistamine called cetirizine hydrochloride, helps to relieve the symptoms of hay fever, like itchy eyes, sneezing and a runny nose, but can also help reduce itchy skin rashes that sometimes also occur.
Price: £7, Amazon – buy here now
4. Optrex Hayfever Relief Eye Drops
Sometimes, hay fever sufferers don’t experience all the symptoms, rather they can suffer with it particularly badly in one area – and this is often the eyes.
If you’ve got red, watery, itchy and sore eyes, you may want to target the problem directly with eye drops.
These are an Amazon bestseller and have been hailed for offering “instant relief” from hay fever symptoms.
Price: £6, Amazon – buy here now
5. Opticrom Hayfever Eye Drops
Another super-effective eye drop is this option from Opticrom, which will kick watering, redness, soreness and itching to the curb.
It’s also suitable for children over aged six, in case your little ones are suffering, too.
Price: £5.29, Boots – buy here now
Best way to help avoid hay fever?
Boots Pharmacist Angela Chalmers’ top tips on the best way to help avoid hay fever:
Minimise your contact with pollen
Try to: Keep doors and windows closed during hay fever season.
Take off the clothes that you have been wearing outside before entering the bedroom – changing inside the bedroom may transfer the outside allergens attached to your clothes into the area where you sleep
Take a shower or bath and wash your hair before going to bed – pollen sticks to your hair and will transfer to your pillow.
6. HayMax Pure Organic Natural Barrier Balm
Trap the allergen before it gets in with an all-natural and organic barrier balm. Some hay fever treatments can leave you feeling a little drowsy, but as this has no active ingredients that’s not an issue. Just pop it around your nostrils (not in), to get it working straight away.
Your body reacts when the amount of allergen in it goes over its sensitivity point. Then it triggers all the nasty reactions – runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, itchy roof of the mouth and all the other horrible symptoms. As long as HayMax traps enough allergens to keep you below that point, the symptoms won’t be triggered.
Even if it doesn’t get you below your trigger point, it will reduce the allergen load on your body so other remedies you take can work better. And you can absolutely use an antihistamine tablet and steroid nasal spray in conjunction with the barrier balm to wage a full-on war on hay fever.
Price: £6.99, Superdrug – buy here now
7. The Eye Doctor Allergy Hay Fever Compress
Put your feet up, lie back and enjoy a cooling eye compress to soothe those, red, itchy peepers.
Hit hayfever where it hurts with this thermal dynamic fabric, which uses regulated evaporation to cool more rapidly.
It helps to reduce puffiness, swelling, itching, inflammation and even headaches, and comes with an adjustable comfy strap.
Price: £8.99, Superdrug – buy here now
8. Cetirizine Allergy & Hayfever Tablets
You don’t need to spend a fortune on big-name brands to get hay fever treatment that actually works.
This pack of 30 tablets is great value for money, and works to reduce all the symptoms of hay fever, like redness, swelling and itchiness.
Perfect if you’re on a budget but don’t want to compromise on results.