Hay fever in November?

[Cugel]

For the past couple of days I seem to have acquired my hay fever symptoms - blocked sinus, low-grade neck/headache, slightly achey and so forth. I usually get hay fever in March-May from birch pollen but have, in the past, had a short bout in September/October from something else. This year it's appeared in November and seems a bit worse than usual.

Does anyone else have hay fever symptoms at the moment? Any clues as to what it might be at this time of year (late September to now mid-November)? I suspect the very fine pollen from various species of ivy, which flowers at this time of year. But I notice all sorts of other stuff flowering just now, presumably due to the mild autumn we're having (in NW England at least).

Cugel

[mjr]

Does anyone else have hay fever symptoms at the moment? Any clues as to what it might be at this time of year (late September to now mid-November)?

Yes, pretty much what you said: blocked sinuses, aching neck and occasionally head, sometimes heavy limbs. I think mine's a cold because it started just after one of my nieces visited and children catch everything from everywhere at the start of the new school/playschool year.

[PDQ Mobile]

The Met Office pollen forecast says:-

"The Pollen season has now ended and the forecast will return in March 2019."!!

So either the Met Office is unaware/ caught out by rising global temperatures or .......?

[Stradageek]

I swept up the detritus from a bunch of tiger lilies last week and felt dreadfull the next day - I've always found that lily perfume catches in my throat a bit but this was something else!

Any houseplants or bunches of flowers you could blame?

[rjb]

Yep, me too and usually in Oct. It possibly some tree pollen but as it's short lived usually over a couple of weeks and not too aggressive it doesn't worry me too much, and I can keep it under control with eye drops.

[Cugel]

Does anyone else have hay fever symptoms at the moment? Any clues as to what it might be at this time of year (late September to now mid-November)?

Yes, pretty much what you said: blocked sinuses, aching neck and occasionally head, sometimes heavy limbs. I think mine's a cold because it started just after one of my nieces visited and children catch everything from everywhere at the start of the new school/playschool year.

Children (and grandchildren): little repositories and vectors of the germ! They should all have a bell about their neck along with a small sign announcing "Unclean! Keep Away!!"

I rarely get a cold these days - I seemed to have all mine in my 20s and 30s. The symptoms I presently have are not dissimilar to the cold but lack the heavy sneezing, snotting and shivering. It's definitely hay fever. I got the hay fever in my 40s - apparently a common pattern, as is losing it if you had it bad in your youth.

Anyroadup, it's tedious and makes me feel like chewing my wasp.

Cugel

[PDQ Mobile]

Which makes me think of a neighbour (bit of a alternative practitioner) who successfully treated a hay fever sufferer using local honey.

A teaspoon a day,
Keeps sniffles away!

[Tangled Metal]

In our house start of the new school year begins a few months of allergic response which includes asthma. Inhaler use goes right up. But this isn't school colds related, although you can get a cold from your kids as well, because it was happening to us before our son was of school age.

We live in North Lancashire and as soon as we get off the motorway near home (2 miles from home) we get the allergic response going right up. At home there is ivy growing over the wall from next door. It is flowering and going over right now. I cut back at the weekend and immediately we all got bad allergic response. So ivy is part of it. Not all though. Last year the ivy never lasted to flower I cut back end of summer and it was stressed so never flowered.

There is something in cycling through traffic when the mornings get colder that seems to cause issues with asthma for me. I think air pollution collects and gets worse in the climate we get in these months. It clears for me in the new year.

BTW I've had allergic rhinitis for decades but never had asthma symptoms until 2 years ago. It's getting worse. I think pollution and this ivy pollen is the cause for me but possibly some other plant's pollen could be an issue this time of year as well.

[geocycle]

Highly unlikely to be pollen but fungal spores are abundant. The relatively mild damp weather is ideal for spore production. These are made of a similar material to pollen dubbed sporopollenin which is a sort of cellulose ester. As TM suggests pollution can have a similar effect as does red wine unfortunately.

[fastpedaller]

Which makes me think of a neighbour (bit of a alternative practitioner) who successfully treated a hay fever sufferer using local honey.

A teaspoon a day,
Keeps sniffles away!

Many years ago (when I was sneezing uncontrollably after a 25m race), a rider from another club introduced me to 'Combination H' tissue salts and explained he'd had good results, but only the season after taking them. I tried them and it worked.

[foxyrider]

I used to suffer year round to some extent, the whole nine yards, I could hardly work some days. When I left my job of a dozen years the symptoms disappeared within days. Clearly it was something within the workplace - I narrowed it down to fumes from all the bike tyres in a fairly poorly ventilated building. So not strictly 'hay' fever although some pollens can certainly set me off.

[fastpedaller]

I used to suffer year round to some extent, the whole nine yards, I could hardly work some days. When I left my job of a dozen years the symptoms disappeared within days. Clearly it was something within the workplace - I narrowed it down to fumes from all the bike tyres in a fairly poorly ventilated building. So not strictly 'hay' fever although some pollens can certainly set me off.

Bike tyres...... Fairy dust from the P@@@@@@e Fairies

[Tangled Metal]

Highly unlikely to be pollen but fungal spores are abundant. The relatively mild damp weather is ideal for spore production. These are made of a similar material to pollen dubbed sporopollenin which is a sort of cellulose ester. As TM suggests pollution can have a similar effect as does red wine unfortunately.

Not sure that's true about ivy. I was free of symptoms then started to cut ivy back, well cutting the flowers back. My partner was clear of symptoms too. Then very soon after starting we both got a big hit of symptoms. I ended up taking antihistamines and used salbutamol to control the allergic asthma symptoms.

[geocycle]

Highly unlikely to be pollen but fungal spores are abundant. The relatively mild damp weather is ideal for spore production. These are made of a similar material to pollen dubbed sporopollenin which is a sort of cellulose ester. As TM suggests pollution can have a similar effect as does red wine unfortunately.

Not sure that's true about ivy. I was free of symptoms then started to cut ivy back, well cutting the flowers back. My partner was clear of symptoms too. Then very soon after starting we both got a big hit of symptoms. I ended up taking antihistamines and used salbutamol to control the allergic asthma symptoms.

Ivy can be a problem but probably not as a result of pollen been released. It could be mold spores on the decomposing leaves or organic compounds released by the plant. Some people have real problems with touching ivy.

[Tangled Metal]

It was releasing pollen from the flowers. Unless it releases spores not pollen. I was cutting the flower stalks off, they're fresh growth from this year and I doubt they have enough mold on them to release sufficient spores to give allergies. Besides I've been in places with mold problems and don't seem to get a reaction to mold spores.

Hey I could be wrong here but it does seem to be the ivy to me.