#Win HayMax Kids Allergen Barrier Balm

Hayfever season is truely upon us.  This year it is me and Holly who are suffering from sore eyes, tickly noses and a mucus cough.  This year is the first time Holly has experienced Hay Fever and now that she is talking about the world and learning about the world she has been fascinated to find out about pollen and allergens that cause her symptoms - she feels almost proud to suffer from hayfever!

You know me, I'd always prefer to try a natural remedy for a problem before resorting to medicines and so Holly and I have been trying out HayMax Kids; it's a natural balm that you place inside your nostrils and around your eyes to act as a barrier against allergen particles.  It's such a simple idea but it genuinely does seem to make a difference.  Last week, on the days when the pollen count was so high that my BBC weather app decided it needed to warn me about it, Holly and I were both totally on top of our hayfever.

This summer I'm also using the Puressentiel nasal spray which I find really works to help clear my nose at the end of the day, and gets me through most of the morning without showing any hayfever signs.

HayMax kids comes in a small pot.  The balm is made using a blend of beeswax and sunflower oil so it it a gentle, 100% organic balm that you can rub onto the nostrils with your fingertips.  Holly enjoys doing this herself in the mornings before nursery.  On the days in the past fortnight where we have forgotten, Holly has once again complained in the evening of a snotty nose and has an evident cough.

I have a summer survival kit for small people to give away to one of my lovely Mellow Mummy readers.  The kit includes a pot of HayMax kids barrier balm and a bottle of Bioskin Junior Bath Milk (we use this for Holly's bathtimes!) - this is a gentle bath additive for use instead of bubble bath which is designed for cleansing and soothing sensitive skin for babies, toddlers and children and is perfect for a cooling bath at the end of a hot summer's day.

If you'd like to win this summer survival kit, all you need to do is to leave me a comment below to tell me the thing you most enjoy about summer.  The competition closes on the 28th June.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. The promoter is: Mellow Mummy
2. Entry is via a blog comment and a valid email address must be supplied when logging into the commenting mechanism. Entries with only facebook or twitter account details will not be deemed valid.
3. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
4. Route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter are via www.mellowmummy.co.uk
5. Closing date for entry is 28th June 2016. After this date the no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
6. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
7. The rules of the competition and the prize for each winner are as follows: one pot of haymax balm and one bottle of Bioskin junior
8. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
9. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.
10. No cash alternative to the prizes will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.
11. Winners will be drawn at random by Mellow Mummy.
12. The winner will be notified by email within 28 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
13. The winner will be asked by the promoter to provide their name, postal address and mobile contact number which will be passed on to the prize supplier.
14. The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
15. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
16. The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.
17. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.

Tackling Hayfever as a Family

I've suffered from Hayfever for around 10 years and in the past couple of months I have noticed that Lara suffers too.  It is still quite unusual to develop hayfever before around 7 years old but Lara definitely has a sensitivity to pollen and, since spring arrived and she has spent more time outside I have noticed that she has a constant sniffle and this causes her to cough... just like her Mummy.  Occasionally, Lara's eyes are also itchy which is not something I've experienced myself yet.

Hayfever is an allergy to airborne pollen, most commonly grass pollen (although I've been told mine is more likely a tree pollen).  An allergy to grass rather puts a damper on outdoor activities such as playing in the garden or having a picnic.  Thankfully, Lara isn't very aware of her hayfever yet so it hasn't really prevented her from playing but I'm now on constant lookout for any signs of it getting worse.

We very often like to eat outdoors over the summer, the girls enjoy a picnic in the garden, or out and about if we want to do a bit of exploring.  I'm starting to worry about whether, this summer, Lara will fancy a picnic so much.  Thankfully, Boots sent us one of their summer hay fever kits to help our own alfresco plans go smoothly, and symptom-free.

The girls enjoyed their first picnic of the year yesterday with salads, rolls, pasta salad, crisps and fruit to enjoy. Lara and I both made use of the Boots Allergy Barrier Nasal Spray which is a really tiny spray that you barely feel when you apply it in your nostrils. The spray is suitable for children from 18 months under adult supervision and just one tiny pump almost instantly opened up my airwaves; the spray acts as a barrier against allergens which enter through the nose so puts up a bit of a fight against pollen. Boots Allergy Barrier Nasal Spray can also be used by breastfeeding women which is a great benefit; I know from experience that it can be very frustrating when you aren't able to take your normal hayfever medication!

Lara and Holly enjoyed their first picnic of the summer and Lara managed to get away without a sniffly nose.  I wish I could say the same for me.  Despite using the barrier spray (which I felt gave me relief at the time), by the end of the day I was coughing and sniffly with tired eyes. Boots Allergy Relief Eye Drops are suitable for use by both adults and children and they offer relief at the end of the day with itchy, sore eyes.  I don't mind applying eye drops to myself but I don't think it would be much fun trying to apply them to Lara!

The biggest relief I found in my Boots hayfever kit was the Boots Irritated Eyes Eye Mist.  The eye mist can be applied with contact lenses and over eye make-up as it is non-oily.  I found it to be a cooling, gentle spray which relaxes the eye lids and made the evening recovery noticeably faster.  I'm definitely packing this one to take with me on holiday next week.

Hayfever during pregnancy

Until a few years ago (before Lara came along), I never used to suffer from hayfever. I was diagnosed with allergic rhinitis, probably caused by tree pollen and after a bit of experimenting, I found that loratadine tablets (a non-drowsy antihistamine) seemed to clear the problem up most of the time. Now, the problem with loratadine is that my G.P. asked me to discontinue using it during pregnancy, but particularly when breastfeeding. This leaves me once again looking for a more natural solution to my niggly hayfever problems.

At this time of year, pollen levels are just beginning to rise (I can tell this by the gungey yellow colour of our ordinarily-black car) and for many it is the start of a summer of hayfever. Thankfully for me, hayfever has never been something that has an enormous impact on my life but it is phenomenally annoying to have a runny nose and an irritating cough caused by the gunk that collects in my throat. It also frustrates Mr. B. because the coughing stops me from sleeping and the gunk means I snore.



As a Sterimar ambassador, I wasn't suprised when they recommended Sterimar Isotonic Nasal Hygeine as a long-term solution to the problem - I just hadn't considered it before because I knew I had a solution of my own. But, seeing as I now can't use my normal tablets I'm going to give the Sterimar a go this spring and summer, having used Sterimar Congestion Relief successfully over winter to combat the equally-annoying post-nasal drip that I experience after a cold.

Because Sterimar is made from 100% natural sea water, it is safe for me to use both now at the end of pregnancy and after the birth when I'm breastfeeding. I've only been using it for about 10 days and I'll admit that it is a hard habit to get into and I've forgotten a couple of times so at present there is little sign of an improvement. Mind you, I did spend A LOT of time outside in the garden of the weekend so my runny nose is likely to be at its worst right now anyway. Theoretically, regular use of the Sterimar salt water spray should help clean my nose and help my own body to do what it is supposed to do naturally - filter out air-borne allergens.

So, I'll keep on using the Sterimar Isotonic and keep you updated on whether I think it is effective as a natural solution to the allergic rhinitis.

Disclosure: I am a Sterimar ambassador. I receive a financial contribution for my ambassador activities (which include more than just blogging). I personally use Sterimar (mainly because it is easier than performing a home-made nasal douche), I recommend it and wholeheartedly believe in all of the comments I make about it - whether they are positive or negative comments.