My battle against hay fever

If you live in Holland, Europe, or any Western country, you probably have heard about hay fever. If you never had hay fever, you are so lucky! I have hay fever since I was 24 years old. Someone told me that if you start having hay fever age 24, you will have it forever. Nice! No, not nice at all! I can't enjoy the nice weather and have to avoid parks and forests. Actually, I have to avoid being exposed to the air outside! Most of the time I am home during summer with all windows closed preferable. I was hoping I wouldn't get hay fever this year because usually it starts already in April. This time, I didn't had any hay fever in April. Suddenly when it was May, I got hay fever and it came to me like BAMMM!!! From one day to the other, I had all the symptoms. The first day I didn't have medications yet. I was sneezing like crazy and if you sneeze all day long, you will have a sore throat!

I called the pharmacy and ordered my standard medicines for hay fever, Levocetirizine. Without this medicine, I would not be able to function normally. I would sneeze all day long which means I would stay in bed feeling miserable! BUT, it doesn't help all the symptoms I have for 100%. It helps the sneezing with 70%. I still have an itchy, runny nose, burning and itchy eyes and a sore throat. Everytime I eat or drink, my throat hurts like crazy. I don't think I would be a good receptionist. I would sneeze while being on the phone.

My eyes are always so red, itchy and burning that the layer around my eyes are loose from my eye ball. I usually use Livocab eyedrops but they don't work that good. It feels nice on the eyes, but after a minute or so, the symptoms are back again. So I did some research and found 4 good reviews about Allergodil. 4 is at least more than zero, right? I called the pharmacy and ordered Allergodil. Didn't get a bill yet, I guess I will get it end of this year from my insurance company. I have to say it works okay, slightly better than Livocab.

This is how my eye(s) look(s) like when I have hay fever. I have to say that this looks quite OK-ish. I should make a picture of my eyes where you see the outer layer being loose from my eye ball(s). It's so annoying to have itchy burning eyes. I can't do my tasks and chores like I normally do. These days are also very hot here, like 27+ degrees Celsius. The hotter the weather, the worser my eyes are getting and the more I sneeze together with a sorer throat.

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I was googling about hay fever and what other things you could do against hay fever. Some people get a pollen injection, but there can be side effects. I also am afraid for needles....

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There is another way to beat hay fever with acupuncture. Again, this is with needles, MANY needles! I am not sure if I would do this, it just looks so scary.

I googled again, and I found something very interesting, Bee Pollen. Something that the bees are making that contains pollen. I can't really explain it very well, but this is a natural product. It also contains many vitamins and minerals. It's called a Superfood. The best is to find a beekeeper to get the best bee pollen. I couldn't find one closeby home yet, so I bought at a natural shop. I tried and it tasted funky. My husband tried it too, even though he doens't have hay fever. He said it tastes like an old sweet carpet :-D. So I tried it, but I don't feel any difference :-(. I think I will just eat it everyday because it's healthy. But that means I had to look further...

I read something about Propolis, that also comes from a bee, which means it is a natural product. I wasn't sure if I should buy it because you can have allergic reactions. Then I read further, it says you should test it first by putting a drop of Propolis on the innerside of your elbow. You have to wait and if it feels burning and looking red, you are allergic to it.

I tested it and luckily no burning feeling or redness. Time to get a shot of that Propolis. 24 drop to be precisely. I didn't read the article online till the end. It says I had to test it 24 hours before I could take the drops.... Yikes! I just hope I will be fine tomorrow! BUT, I feel my eyes aren't irritated anymore and they are white and no itchy eyes...

My husband said we could finally all go together to the park. I told him that I have to see how it goes when I leave the house first without sunglasses. I am for sure not going to the park/forest directly after one day testing this Propolis. I have to see it for a few days and take baby steps.

Another thing is, will the symptoms only go away when I take the medicines and the Propolis? Or will it go away forever? So far it just feels Propolis and my pills will only be good for my hay fever when I take a shot every single day. If it won't go away forever without any medication, I might consider acupuncture or a bee pollen injection.

I actually don't like bees and wasps but I have to admit that they play a very important role in our nature and health.

My eyes after the Propolis shot