For about 3 days now my eyes have been itching and hurting. I've had a cold anyway which would disguise the running nose symptons.

So as far as I'm concerned I've been hit with hay fever. In early February??? Are we going to be sunbathing in April. Will we ever ski again?

This global warming stuff is no joke.

Sure it is...

"President Bush told reporters he won't see Al Gore's documentary about the threat of global warming. He will not see it. On the other hand, Dick Cheney said he's seen the global warming film five times, and it still cracks him up." --Conan O'Brien

"According to a survey in this week's Time magazine, 85% of Americans think global warming is happening. The other 15% work for the White House." --Jay Leno

"They say if the warming trend continues, by 2015 Hillary Clinton might actually thaw out." --Jay Leno

The last two winters here have been appalling. Saying that, the middle east and China have had one of the coldest winters in living memory.

ahhh...perhaps that's what it is. Was wondering why I keep sneezing and getting on-off cold like symptoms which never seem to be evolving in to a cold.

I also just spoke to my mum has been told by the Dr that she needs to take her hayfever tablets, she did and what do you know, she feels tons better.

Would also have thought it's far too early?!?

It would technically be too early, but from what I have seen on TT stuff is already blooming there, yeah? So then it is not too early. Depends on what you are allergic to,hay fever season would usually start in March, but if it's a warm winter (which I think it has been - haven't been in Germany much but the three - four weeks I was there weren't that cold) it can start earlier.
Or maybe you are allergic to something else, an animal or dust/mite (that is a year-round allergy).
My doctor said last year it would start about a month earlier than usual (last year)... this year I'm fine so far but I think I'm allergic to the summer crap mostly, not spring, and besides I think living by the ocean is supposed to help so I hope I'll get around the usual symptoms (which are not that horrible for me, mostly lots of sneezing).

yepp, went to the doctor last week and was fairly surprised when he told me hayfever season had already started, and I had been hit (which obviously made sense from the symptoms, but it just seemed silly to be claiming hayfever in January). Not too bad yet, got tablets, and I am ok-ish. Never had problems until 2 years ago, and it has been a nightmare since.

Yep, I have this hayfever bad, and that aint good. What's bothering me the most is my itchy and swollen eyes.

I seen snowdrops and pussy willow in full bloom today in a garden, so I think the season for hay fever has begun. Good luck to all sufferers( to which I might add, I am not one)

Yep. Last year it went from Feb till around June.

due to the warm winter and stuff heyfever is starting earlier this year. At the moment I'm not too bad but it'll hit me sooner than I like. Oh well tissues up the nose.

I've been chomping on Loratadin for the last week or so. Used to be April - June, now it is more like February - September

*runs out to get new drugs for the weekend*

Are there any Welsh who don't suffer from hayfever??

I never had problems with hay fever in Australia, but got hit fairly hard by it when we were living in Trier and also laast year when we were in Niedersachsen through spring and summer. No problems this year as yet - but then we now live in Luftkurort Niebüll where the wind is so constant off the North Sea that the trees commonly bend toward the west and where the pollen is whisked away toward Flensburg before it has a chance to make my eyes itch.

Niebüll must be special. In the rest of Schleswig-Holstein the trees are bended to the east.

To rid oneself of hayfever, a good advice is to stay away from dairy products as far as possible.

The dairy product thing was also advised to me by a doctor in the US, but I cannot do without my yoghurt. And not particularly a fan of soy milk. (And I did try for a while, but I would always end up throwing it out, I'd rather have no milk than soy milk (I am not that fond of milk anyway).

You are of course correct - and Niebüll is not special in any way. I don't know why, but I often make that mistake here (mixing east and west around). Then again when I was preparing for my driving test here I sometimes turned left when told to turn right. Maybe a spot of early-onset senility.

Some people are allergic to dairy products and it might be worth checking out particuarly if your allergic reactions are mucous-y.
But if your diet is fairly constant but your allegies are more seasonal then it is more liely airborne pollen.
ask your doctor to refer you to an allergy specialist.

Not to sound like mary poppins but a spoonful of locally made raw honey per day really helps with pollen allergies...

Hayfever season started officially form me on 29th Jan with my first sneezing attack. The recent warm winters are allowing the Hazel to blossom earlier than usual. We need some snow!

OK...it's killing me here. I used to take one a day tablets in the UK that totally helped me. You could buy a non-drowsy version there. Now when I go to the pharmacy here they say there is no such thing as a non drowsy version and the stuff they give me just knocks me out. The drops and nasel spray are NOT working. This is the worst it's been since I lived in Munich.

Any suggestions (apart from the honey one) I want some good meds!

I was taking Lorano last year but it wasn't helping at all. Recently a colleague recommended Fenistil 24hr active tablets so have been using them for about 10 days now. They seem to be quite effective...doesn't stop the sneezing/runny nose completely but at least the itchy eyes have improved drastically...was almost scratching them out beforehand! You just take one tablet before you go to bed (as they could make you drowsy). No probs so far. Good luck finding something that works for you...it's just a matter of trial and error.

Lorano works fine for me, but my allergy ain't too bad right now (it's mainly the hazelnut bushes that do it for me). No drowsiness from that one.

Lorano just sends me to sleep! You're right, it's just trial and error, but luckily my Dad is coming over this weekend from Blighty so he's bringing me the good non drowsy stuff from over there. It has eased off a little this week thank god. Last week was such a nightmare

Ugh, mine hit with a vengeance today, Lorano/Clarityn is doing no good, but this is a common thing for me at the "beginning" of the season. Actually the season began for me a couple of months ago, but with the overcast weather we've had recently it had died down again. Usually the symptoms seem to dampen down after a few days, fingers-crossed.

I've heard this before, does it really work, where do you go for local honey if you live in a city? e.g Berlin

Lorano doesn't really work for me either. You could try Aerius (Desloratadine), which is a new drug that is prescription-only (or at least it was last year).

About the honey, you could try a bio store, or a local farm (like outside Berlin). Maybe ask at a bio store or Reformhaus, they might be able to help.

@ Firstcitizen I've always found this to be useful - it doesn't get rid of the symptoms but it helps reduce them. There was a thread just last week about buying local honey in Berlin, I'll try and find the link
EDIT try this Where to buy locally produced honey

my chronic hayfever was controlled by Moxa treatments.
I'd had it bad for years and usually relied on Lorano which made me sleepy.
now I never need to take pills at all.

@ MG the treatment was done by a proper doctor and our insurance covers it!

I thought I had gotten away without symptoms this year but it hit me like a tonne of bricks last night. No sleep for the next few months.