Allergies & hayfever

Allergies are triggered by pollens found in the environment from various species of trees and grass, ragweed (flowering plants) and other allergens.

Allergies are often called hay fever, which affects more than 3 billion people worldwide.^1-2 Allergens such as pollen, dust mites and pet dander aren’t harmful to humans, but for those of us with allergies, our immune system over-reacts to their presence. Airborne pollen can enter your nose, mouth and/or eyes, and within minutes may trigger a cascade of events leading to the symptoms we know all too well. Dust and moulds can be year-round issues, so if you’re serious about looking after your hay fever, you’ll need to be serious about avoiding your triggers.

Hay fever can last all year round, not just in spring and autumn months. Many sufferers believe that people don’t understand how miserable it can make you feel – due to disturbed sleep, daytime tiredness and poor concentration.

To find out what your local pollen forecast is, see: www.metservice.com and select your town or city.

Colds and allergies often share the same symptoms. Below are a few key differences. If you think you have an allergy, talk to your healthcare professional to see if Dymista^® is right for you.

Do you have an allergy, cold or flu?

	Allergy & hay fever	Cold	Flu
When	Any time of the year	Usually winter but can be all year around	Winter
Symptoms appear	Immediately	In a few days	In a few hours
Duration	As long as you’re exposed to the problem allergen	5 – 7 days	7 – 14 days
Common Symptoms	Runny nose (clear mucus), Blocked nose, Red itchy eyes, Sneezing	Runny nose (mostly coloured mucus), Sore throat, Sneezing, Cough (with mucus)	Extreme exhaustion, Fever, Headache, Muscle aches & pains, Sore throat
Other Symptoms	Headache, Sore throat	Headache, Fever	Blocked nose, Sneezing
Adopted from Pharmacy Today, June 2018, p.30³

Allergy & hay fever
When	Any time of the year
Symptoms appear	Immediately
Duration	As long as you’re exposed to the problem allergen
Common Symptoms	Runny nose (clear mucus), Blocked nose, Red itchy eyes, Sneezing
Other Symptoms	Headache, Sore throat

Cold
When	Usually winter but can be all year around
Symptoms appear	In a few days
Duration	5 – 7 days
Common Symptoms	Runny nose (mostly coloured mucus), Sore throat, Sneezing, Cough (with mucus)
Other Symptoms	Headache, Fever

Flu
When	Winter
Symptoms appear	In a few hours
Duration	7 – 14 days
Common Symptoms	Extreme exhaustion, Fever, Headache, Muscle aches & pains, Sore throat
Other Symptoms	Blocked nose, Sneezing

Allergy and hay fever symptoms:

Sneezing

Itchy, Red, Watery Eyes

Runny Nose

Blocked Nose

References:

1. Tong & Lin 2014. GLOBAL ATLAS OF ALLERGIC RHINITIS AND CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS
Published by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2015: 62-63.EAACI 2015: 62-63
2. Worldbank 2016 population available at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL. Accessed Nov 2017.
3. Fookes C. Pharmacy Today June 2018: 30-31.

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DYMISTA^® Pharmacy Only Medicine for the symptomatic treatment of moderate to severe allergic rhinitis and rhino-conjunctivitis. DYMISTA^® contains azelastine hydrochloride 137micrograms & fluticasone propionate 50micrograms per spray. Use only as directed. For use in those 12 years and older. May cause drowsiness (avoid alcohol and driving) Always read the label. If symptoms persist see your healthcare professional. Consumer medicine information is available at www.medsafe.govt.nz.
Dymista^® is a Viatris company trademark, Viatris Limited, Auckland. Copyright© 2022 Viatris Inc. All rights reserved.