Hayfever is a common seasonal allergy that affects around 1 in 3 adults in the UK. You can easily buy hayfever treatments from your pharmacist, such as over-the-counter antihistamines, eye drops and nasal sprays. However, if these regular treatments aren’t controlling your symptoms, we can carry out a thorough clinical assessment of your suitability for both licensed and unlicensed prescription treatments.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: For The Benefit of Our Patients Our Hayfever Clinic is Being Held at Our Bentley Pharmacy, Holden’s Chemist Bentley, 81 High Street, DN5 0AP
Book Your Hayfever Consultation
If your usual hayfever treatments are not controlling your symptoms, book a clinical assessment with our team at Holden’s Chemist Bentley.
Prefer to speak to us? Call 01302 820340
What is Hayfever?
Hayfever is an allergic response to plant and tree pollen. The condition is seasonal and has links to the time of the year when trees and plants release their pollen, most notably in the summer.
If you have hayfever your symptoms may include:
– Sneezing and an itchy, runny or blocked nose (allergic rhinitis)
– Itchy, red, watering eyes (conjunctivitis)
– Wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath and a cough
– A raised, itchy, red rash (hives)
Your body’s immune reaction is a defence against a potentially dangerous substance. However, when the substance is not dangerous, such as pollen, we call this response an allergy.
So, an allergy is not an auto-immune disease. It is an immune response.
What hayfever treatments are available?
We can prescribe antihistamines and nasal sprays to treat your hayfever:
– Fexofenadine – antihistamine tablets
– Dymista (azelastine and fluticasone) – nasal spray
– Rhinolast (azelastine) – nasal spray.
These medications may be helpful if, for example, other treatments have been ineffective at controlling your hayfever symptoms. The treatments may also be suitable for children aged over 6 or 12 as well as adults. However, Fexofenadine is not available if you are over 65 years of age, pregnant or breastfeeding.
After the consultation, given suitability we can explore the possibility of an unlicensed treatment.
What is an unlicensed treatment for hayfever?- People often ask us about the Kenalog “hayfever injection” and this is an example of unlicensed treatment. The prescribing of this medicine follows our unlicensed prescribing policy. Please ask during your consultation if you would like to discuss this.
Educational Information: Kenalog and International Licensing
Many patients ask why they have heard about Kenalog being used for severe seasonal allergies in some countries but not others.
In the United States, Kenalog-40 (triamcinolone acetonide) is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a number of inflammatory and allergic conditions, including certain severe allergic states where conventional treatment has proved inadequate or is not feasible.
In the United Kingdom, Kenalog is licensed for other medical indications but is not licensed specifically for the treatment of hayfever (seasonal allergic rhinitis). This means that if it is prescribed for hayfever, it would be considered an unlicensed (“off-label”) use.
Prescribing medicines outside their licensed indication is recognised within UK clinical practice in appropriate circumstances, provided the prescriber is satisfied that it is clinically appropriate for the individual patient, has considered the available evidence, and has discussed the potential benefits, risks and alternative treatment options with the patient before prescribing.
This information is provided for educational purposes only to explain differences in international medicine licensing. Any treatment recommendation can only be made following an individual clinical consultation with an appropriately qualified prescriber.