In the last couple of years, one unexpected benefit of aging is hay fever was no longer requiring me to stay indoors and (metaphorically) pull up the drawbridge. Indeed, it resulted in my bedside drawer being so stuffed with unused anti-histamines, I was considering returning them to the pharmacy.
Until… after suffering with the cold from hell, I decided to enjoy the recent days of sunshine, taking my iPad and tea to the garden to carry out my morning task of job hunting – all the while soaking up the Vitamin D in a natural form, rather than simply relying on the popping of a pill (it’s actually a gummy, but you know what I mean). Before starting, I’d take a moment to express gratitude for the simple pleasure of being outdoors without my eyes itching or my nose twitching. Except, blow me down, after a couple of days… my eyes started to itch and water, and my nose to twitch and sneeze. Initially I blamed the return of the vile cold I’d recently suffered with, but no…
What confirmed this allergy-not-cold diagnosis is how ultra-sensitive to smell I suddenly became, as even those scents which normally have no impact on me, started coming through very strongly. At the height of my hay fever decades, certain scents took on a particular chemical pungency. Anyone wearing Estee Lauder or Calvin Klien would watch in horror as I morphed into a snotty weeping mess within seconds of their approach. With my sense of smell so heightened, there were many other scents/smells which I’d try to avoid and/or limit my exposure to. Long story short, my hay fever has not departed but simply changed trigger to tree pollen. Only time will tell if grass pollen joins it in due course, and my joy at a future without hay fever was misplaced. Sigh.
I’m currently weighing up whether to pull out my early Covid-era soft cotton masks to wear outside so I can attend interviews with a fully-functioning brain (if with pockets full of tissues), or to dip into that full drawer of anti-histamines and risk being turned into an utter sleep-walking zombie. For yes, even the non-drowsy anti-histamines knock me out. As a fan of alternative remedies, I am frantically seeking a new homeopath. Even though my previous experience is the remedy for itchy eyes works a treat, if not the one for rhinitis. But maybe with the trigger change, I’ll get lucky.
I shouldn’t be surprised at this hay fever morph, as it’s not like all my allergies had disappeared. The first of my allergies (which arrived shortly after my 30th birthday) was to metal, when I became unable to wear any of my fun jewellery, with even the metal bracelet of my watch causing unbearable rashes. If it isn’t gold, silver or platinum, I simply can’t have it against my skin. Even though I love them, Stargazer lillies have remained a no-no – as they, plus those aforementioned perfumes/aftershaves, haven’t stopped causing problems, just lessened in their intensity. Indeed, I’ve stopped using most scented products for the same reason.
Dr Google tells me that tree pollen season ranges from January to June, but of course is dependent what type of tree(s) you’re allergic too. So today I shall be donning said mask and heading into the garden with my phone and an app to identify which trees make up the magnificent backdrop to our garden, in an attempt to work out how long my symptoms may last, so I can make a more informed decision vis-a-vis face mask & tissues vs anti-histamines. I shall also be wandering around the immediate neighbourhood with my phone, trying to identify as many trees as is possible, while trying to avoid seeming like some form of stalker š
I remember being told – all those years ago now – that people who got late onset hay fever would eventually grow out of it. I didn’t think then it would take 40 years to happen, nor that it would not leave… just move to a different season. But, as there are people who’ve suffered with this their whole lives, whereas I got the first 30 years of mine allergy free, I’m in no position to complain.
Do you suffer with allergies or intolerances (other than to annoying people š ) ?
Ā© Debs Carey, 2026
debsdespatches.com 
I have very strong allergies to tree pollens, and they cause endless post nasal drip and coughing for a month or more. I have discovered that using a steroid nasal spray (OTC, Flonase etc) and my neti pot daily does more for me than anti-histamines. I heard a piece on NPR recently, an allergist speaking about what works, and she said anti-histamines only touch a small range of allergens, so the nasal spray and wash tend to work better, and to start using them the second you feel allergies coming on. It resonated with what I found worked this year, which kept my misery to about a month instead of many months.
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