Does anyone have bad allergies right now in Basel? - Page 2

foliorose · #21 14.02.2011, 19:56

I also eat local honey each year beginning in January, gradually increasing my daily intake from 1/2 teaspoon in January to 2 Tablespoons in April. It exposes your system to many of the pollens in the area and gives your body a chance to accept them rather than flaring up all the defenses when they show up all of a sudden. It's very helpful!

#22 14.02.2011, 20:40

	Quote:	dragonblu
	The warm weather has the hazelnut trees blooming the last few weeks... http://www.pollenundallergie.ch/inde...parents_id=930 I'm suffering too...

Dragonblu has it. Its tree pollen. Hazel is the major culprit at this time of year and it has some of the strongest allergens going. We have a few hazel trees in our garden and pollen was coming off them in great yellow drifts the other day.

rxg · #23 25.03.2011, 20:54

	Quote:	Mélusine
	A lot of people are complaining about the same symptoms at the moment, and there were several articles about it in local newspapers. It seems that because of the unusually warm weather and the total absence of rain and wind for quite a long time, the air is extremely polluted in Switzerland at the moment. Most Swiss towns have largely overcome their tolerated limits of microparticles. Specialists advise young children, old people and people with respiratory troubles and allergies to avoid going out and rinse their faces/eyes thoroughly after a trip out.

I wish I had searched for this thread earlier. Thanks so much for EF, I thought I was going crazy! Like the OP, I'm in Basel and I've had the worst allergy symptoms since the end of January - watery eyes, wheezing, congestion. Now still the same nearly two months later. I lived in urban polluted areas in the US most of my life and never had allergies (I relocated to Basel late last summer). I did go to the doctor who gave me an inhaler for the wheezing, but I think I'll have to pay her another visit.

I have two questions: To anyone who has experienced this (heavy allergy symptoms in Basel/NW Switzerland in the early spring) before, until how long does this last? Is it through the summer?

Secondly, I've tried Claritin and Zyrtec so far, with no success. Does anyone have any other suggestions for allergy medications?

Thanks in advance for any information.

Peg A · #24 25.03.2011, 21:57

	Quote:	rxg
	I wish I had searched for this thread earlier. Thanks so much for EF, I thought I was going crazy! Like the OP, I'm in Basel and I've had the worst allergy symptoms since the end of January - watery eyes, wheezing, congestion. Now still the same nearly two months later. I lived in urban polluted areas in the US most of my life and never had allergies (I relocated to Basel late last summer). I did go to the doctor who gave me an inhaler for the wheezing, but I think I'll have to pay her another visit. I have two questions: To anyone who has experienced this (heavy allergy symptoms in Basel/NW Switzerland in the early spring) before, until how long does this last? Is it through the summer? Secondly, I've tried Claritin and Zyrtec so far, with no success. Does anyone have any other suggestions for allergy medications? Thanks in advance for any information.

My worst allergies here are this time of year, starting right about now actually as the combination of lingering tree pollen plus some of the newer things coming up along with wet weather get me pretty fiercely.

I've tried Claritin and Zyrtec before (in Florida) as well as Singulair as I tend to get asthma issues triggered by allergies, for me, they don't do quite as good a job with my allergies as good old fashioned Chlor-Trimeton (chlorpheniramine maleate). I think that the more modern drugs are "safer" in many ways but I had some funky side effects from those (particularly Singulair).

I've mentioned in this thread before that it is available here, at least in combination with pseudoephedrine... it is quite a bit more expensive than I'm accustomed to paying though so I'm seriously considering having conversation with allergist to try some new meds again. (No driving here means I don't have to worry about going into a "raging blackout" from driving in traffic this time around, right?)

Also, dlpeiyee pointed out in another thread that tomorrow is "National Allergy Day"... they are having the event in Basel at the M Parc at Dreispitz from 10am to 3:30pm. (Sorry, language choices for the page are German, French and Italian)

cannut · #25 25.03.2011, 22:04

	Quote:	Swisstobe
	For some reason my husband and I have had a mean case of the allergies these past couple of days...is there something blooming right now? I checked pollen counts and didn't see anything. Isn't it too cold for that? Thank-you!

Snow mold ,Old leafs ,Old grass(not the one you smoke)

cannut · #26 25.03.2011, 22:07

	Quote:	Peg A
	My guess would be what breagh was joking about... dust mites and / or mold as the apartments here are much more air-tight than they were in Florida for sure. Make sure you're opening your windows to allow some fresh (DRY!) air in as our steamy hot breath combined with radiant heat makes for some serious potential for mold... as well as whatever the heck it is here that makes it so darned dusty. Mine aren't bothering me any more than usual, a sneeze or three when I wake up in the morning, sorted pretty quickly with a dose of otc allergy meds (sudafed + chlor trimeton) which a good friend kindly helped me restock from the US. You can get that combo here (kinda) in Aleve allergy sinus or something like that - crazy expensive if you need much though, I think it comes out to 1chf per tablet here (as opposed to not even $5 for a box of 48 in the US)

You must be in switzerland for a long time

rxg · #27 25.03.2011, 22:51

	Quote:	Peg A
	My worst allergies here are this time of year, starting right about now actually as the combination of lingering tree pollen plus some of the newer things coming up along with wet weather get me pretty fiercely. I've tried Claritin and Zyrtec before (in Florida) as well as Singulair as I tend to get asthma issues triggered by allergies, for me, they don't do quite as good a job with my allergies as good old fashioned Chlor-Trimeton (chlorpheniramine maleate). I think that the more modern drugs are "safer" in many ways but I had some funky side effects from those (particularly Singulair). I've mentioned in this thread before that it is available here, at least in combination with pseudoephedrine... it is quite a bit more expensive than I'm accustomed to paying though so I'm seriously considering having conversation with allergist to try some new meds again. (No driving here means I don't have to worry about going into a "raging blackout" from driving in traffic this time around, right?) Also, dlpeiyee pointed out in another thread that tomorrow is "National Allergy Day"... they are having the event in Basel at the M Parc at Dreispitz from 10am to 3:30pm. (Sorry, language choices for the page are German, French and Italian)

Thank you, Peg A and dlpeiyee. The National Allergy Day event should be helpful, I think. It says on the website that they have allergists there so it's definitely worth going.
I should have mentioned that I've been trying the 'traditional' meds also on and off, and I'll try Chlor trimeton also - I'll try getting it (or some equivalent) from Germany tomorrow and see how the price compares.

Thanks also to Mélusine, foliorose, dragonblue and everyone else who wrote in with the (very helpful) info.

foliorose · #28 26.03.2011, 06:47

Speaking of medication, does anyone know of an effective homeopathic allergy remedy? I'm pregnant and while my allergies seem to be in a lull right now I'm getting nervous for the next round to kick up.

Any advice would be great!!

rxg · #29 26.03.2011, 07:40

	Quote:	foliorose
	Speaking of medication, does anyone know of an effective homeopathic allergy remedy? I'm pregnant and while my allergies seem to be in a lull right now I'm getting nervous for the next round to kick up. Any advice would be great!!

My doc had prescribed 'Sibrovita' for me. It says they are a homeopathic on the packet. They are capsules that you dissolve in hot water for steam inhalation to clear up your sinuses and/or wheezing. Didn't work for me, but my symptoms were pretty severe and I didn't stick with it for very long. I think it is mainly (or all) Eucalyptus oil.

NotAllThere · #30 26.03.2011, 09:13

	Quote:	rxg
	My doc had prescribed 'Sibrovita' for me. It says they are a homeopathic on the packet. They are capsules that you dissolve in hot water for steam inhalation to clear up your sinuses and/or wheezing. Didn't work for me, but my symptoms were pretty severe and I didn't stick with it for very long. I think it is mainly (or all) Eucalyptus oil.

If it's homeopathic, it shouldn't contain any Eucalyptus oil. I will resist the urge, at this time, to start another debate on homeopathy, except to promote once again the only totally honest homeopathy supplier.

There is definitely a cold epidemic in Basel at the moment. Allergies make my eyes sore, and give me sinus problems. With this lot, I've been coughing, having fever. Since January.

At least I had a week off for my ski holiday! This is definitely worse than previous years. I think it's in combination with pollution, due to the fine weather for so long.