What is hayfever and what can be done about it

The goal of treatment is to reduce allergy symptoms caused by the inflammation of affected tissues. The best "treatment" is to avoid what causes your allergic symptoms in the first place.

[edit] Medication

The most appropriate medication depends on the type and severity of symptoms. Specific illnesses that are caused by allergies (such as asthma and eczema) may require other treatments.

Options include the following:

* Fast-acting strong antihistamines such as drugs including chlorphenamine which relieve the symptoms after a hayfever "attack".

* Short-acting antihistamines, which are generally over-the-counter (non-prescription), often relieve mild to moderate symptoms, but can cause drowsiness. A pediatrician should be consulted before using these medicines in children, as they may affect learning. One formerly prescription medication, loratadine (Claritin庐), is now available over the counter in many countries. It does not tend to cause drowsiness or affect learning in children. Azelastine (Astelin庐) is the only antihistamine available as a nasal spray.

* Longer-acting antihistamines cause less drowsiness, can be equally effective, and usually do not interfere with learning. These medications include fexofenadine (Allegra), and cetirizine (Zyrtec).

* New leukotriene receptor antagonists, such as montelukast (Singulair) and zafirlukast (Accolate) have proven very effective in dealing with allergic rhinitis, without the common side-effects of the first-generation antihistimines, such as drowsiness. These medicines are also long-acting, and are recommended to be taken once-daily.