9 replies to this topic

[iSteev]

Hi Folks,
I'm not sure how to tackle this one so hopefully someone has some ideas. I ran the MM 10km on Sunday and as I entered the Alexandra Gardens, I had an onslaught of Hayfever due to the location and weather conditions of the day (hot, dry and windy).

I stopped at the medics station as I couldn't breathe through my nose and although I had taken in plenty of water at the drink stations, my mouth became so dry that I could barely breathe and took some time before i could rehydrate and continue.

My question is, has anyone else experienced this and what do they do? I didn't take an antihistamine in the morning because I didn't want to dehydrate however in the end it happened anyway because I couldn't breathe. Catch 22.

I'm interested in any ideas of how I might deal with this in furture runs. Should I have taken the antihistamine and taken in more water to counteract?

Cheers,
Steve

[Rudolf]

Steve, my answer is:

be realistic with choosing races vs weather and season,

if You each year suffer around this time in Melb, just make it a resting recovering time of the year, and choose winter marathon instead.

marathon itself is quite stressfull to body systems including the imune system, and with hayfewer You either have imune system overirritated and tehrefore close to exhaustion and or are having it in enforced sleeping mody via medication, none of it is good for marathon and long term consequencies.

longer term, You can look at methods to get rid of hayfewer, but that is beyond scope of this forum, and any meaningfull discussions will be poluted by quack watching double agents.

[otisr]

Steve,

I suffer from hay fever, although my experience a little different to yours. I mowed the lawn at home on Saturday, silly mistake a i am allergic to pollen, and picked up the nose runs and watery eyes around 4.00pm. I flew down to Melbourne, 3 x hankies on the planes (a little embarrassing) and i felt uncomfortable all evening. I ate, drank, etc, all ok, but did not take any medication as they usually are sleep inducers, and i was afraid of not waking up next am. I even booked a morning wake up to make sure i did arise.

I felt ok next morning - marathon day, and went out and ran a 4:10 marathon - being my third for year i thought it would be a quick one but i struggled, no cramps just struggled last 10kms. I could put it down to lack of sleep, hay fever, etc, but i could not be sure.

I still run with the sneezes but it does affect me. I try Beconase, and other allergens but have yet to find one that really does the job. If i run past a freshly mowed lawn - my breathing reacts a little but not enough to stop. My allergies can lead to asthma attacks so i can be a little careful when in the "influence" of pollens, dust, etc.

I would probably take a antihistamine, and drink heaps, but if it is anything over a half marathon - i would be careful if i have hay fever. I got over mine overnight - just.

otis

[iSteev]

Thanks Folks,

I might try the antihistamine first and if that fails I may just have to choose my time of year better.

Was just interested in how others handled this.

Thanks,
Steve

[undercover brother]

i've 'cheated' once or twice and used a nasal decongestant.
cant remember which one maybe spray-tish.
problem with all of these is 'rebound congestion' ie. feels twice as blocked a few hours later.
does the trick for the race though!

[littleblackpug]

I use Telfast, and haven't noticed any issues. I guess it does cause you to be a little more dehydrated however. My hayfever is mainly sinus and itching eyes.

I did Sydney Marathon on it, and probably have to take it about 50% days in Spring, so I am plenty use to running when taking it, but I can't say it was the cause of my disappointing race at Sydney!

[Pasc]

I also ran down in Melbourne on Sunday. When I arrived on Saturday, my eyes started to itch... then the headache came along with the blocked sinuses. It wasn't a great start to my debut marathon weekend!

No antihistamines work for me... they either make me feel worse or put me to sleep. I went off the chemist and the pharmacist suggested something called 'cenephan' (?) but there was a likelihood that this was going to cause drowsiness (the pharmacist mentioned that it had a different active ingredient to the other antihistamines).

In the long run, I opted for Otrivin, a nasal decongestant. That worked but took some time to take effect. The morning of the race I felt fine. It was probably the most inert option suggested, hence why I chose it.

I would suggest you have a good chat to your pharmacist... and good luck!

[kathmandu]

i really think you need to be careful with allergies. i get hayfever too and a few months back i had a strange thing happen. Id just finished a hard session and my skin went all tingly and then puffed up. Then my tongue started to swell. It was really scary.

i ended up at the medical centre and had assorted tests and turned out to be just a severe allergy to soemthing that was flowering or seeding at that particular time, compounded by my sweat, the humidity etc from the hard session. The doc was worried the next attack would be worse so now i just have to keep antihistamines on me at all times in case it happens again.

i get the dehydrated feeling too, and i dont take tablets unless its absolutely critical. So if i was in your situation Steve Id just chose race locations and times that didnt set me off and then just have a tablet on hand in case. i always find if im hayfevery or if ive had a tablet i dont run as well as i do without so i think expecting your body to run well in either situation is not really realistic, so its better to back off and look after your bod. but thats just my opinion.

[lavenderlilly]

Hi All

I thought I should contribute to this thread as I am a big sufferer from allergies, it's a long story, but I will try to cut it short.
I have to take Telfast 180 every day from September to February and after my run/race I have to gargle Betadine (or Viodine) sore throat gargle because I get reaction in my throat.
I also take this time of year Deralin 1 tablet every night to prevent migranes.

Pasc, I wonder if your problem - headache & block sinus, is the same thing, I used to be treated for sinus/throat infection, before it came clear it is an allergy.

I still sometimes forget to gargle after my run (I run in the afternoon) and then wake up in the morning with my throat burning, it hurts to talk and usualy have a higher tempreture & headache - flu symptoms... In the past I used to be home this time of year with the flu and antibiotics...

[iSteev]

Thanks Everyone,

It's very much a person thing, isn't it. I don't suffer from hayfever for very long in Spring however when it hits, it hits hard. I've only been running for a few months so the Melbourne Marathon was the first experience I'd ever had with running in an event an being hit with hayfever. It wasn't much fun I have to say. I might do some experimenting on my training runs to see if I can find something that works for me.

Appreciate the feedback. It's given me more to think about.

Cheers