Where to buy cheapest hay fever tablets, nasal spray and eye drops as high pollen count hits UK
IT'S that time of year again when you reach for the antihistamines, nasal sprays and eye drops just to get some relief from hay fever.
And as the Met Office warns of grass pollen levels increasing to a "very high risk" over the next few days, you'll be wanting to stock up on medication to help treat the symptoms.
But before you add the leading brand to your shopping basket, you can actually save cash by swapping for a budget or own-brand alternative - as long as it contains the same active ingredient.
Both Cetirizine hydrochloride and Loratadine are the most common active ingredients in tablets to treat hay fever as neither of them make you drowsy.
When it comes to nasal sprays there are a few to choose from, including oxymetazoline hydrochloride and fluticasone propionate, while hay fever eye drops tend to contain sodium cromoglicate.
These are the things to look out for when comparing prices for medication.
We've done some shopping around to find out where you can save the most cash on your hay fever relief, looking at prices from seven leading high street retailers - Asda, Boots, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Superdrug, Tesco and Wilko.
Here's where you can shop to save money when it comes to your hay fever medication:
Cheapest Piriteze alternatives tablets
Cheapest 30-pack cetirizine hydrochloride alternative
LOOK for the active ingredient cetirizine hydrochloride when comparing prices:
- Wilko own-brand - £1.50
- Allacan at Boots - £1.99
- Almus at Superdrug - £2.49
- Asda own brand - £2.50
- Glapharm at Morrisons - £2.75
Piriteze is one of the leading brands for hay fever tablets but a box of 30 will set you back around £9.99.
The active ingredient in the medication is cetirizine hydrochloride, which can also be found in budget alternatives.
The cheapest place you'll find a pack of 30 from an alternative brand is Wilko where its own brand pills cost just £1.50 - £8.49 less than Piriteze.
The second cheapest tablets are by Allacan at Boots, which cost £1.99, followed by Almus at Superdrug for £2.49.
Cheapest Clarityn tablets
Cheapest 30-pack loratadine alternative
LOOK for the active ingredient loratadine when comparing prices:
- Bells at Boots - £1.99
- Almus at Superdrug - £2.49
- Asda own-brand - £2.50
- Galpharm at Morrisons - £2.50
- Sainsbury's own-brand - £2.95
If you prefer loratadine then you're probably used to picking up a pack of Clarityn to sort out your hay fever problems - but a pack of 30 can set you back £9.65 each.
Loratadine is the active ingredient which you'll need to look out for on the packaging.
We found that you can save a huge £7.66, if you switched to budget brand Bells, which is sold at Boots for £1.99.
You'll get the same amount of pills and it will do the same job as the branded version.
You can also save cash at Superdrug with a pack of Almus that cost £2.49, or Asda own brand that is priced at £2.50.
Cheapest hay fever nasal spray
Cheapest hay fever nasal sprays 15ml
THE active ingredient in these nasal sprays is oxymetazoline hydrochloride.
- Wilko decongestant nasal spray - £1.75
- Morrisons nasal decongestant - £1.90
- Sainsbury's nasal decongestant spray - £1.90
- Asda nasal decongestant - £2
- Tesco nasal decongestant - £2
When it comes to nasal sprays, there are a number of active ingredients to look out for - some of which you will find are also in sprays to clear your nose when you have a cold.
For our comparison, we've looked at 15ml sprays that contain oxymetazoline hydrochloride - you may be able to find different sprays for less but that have a different active ingredient.
Once again, Wilko comes out on top for being the cheapest as their own brand decongestant nasal spray costs just £1.75.
In second place is Morrisons' own brand where the same size bottle will set you back just £1.90.
The most expensive one we found was Boots' own brand where is cost £2.99.
Cheapest eye drops for hay fever
Cheapest hay fever eye drops
THE active ingredient in the eye drops that we compared on price is .active ingredient sodium cromoglicate.
- Wilko dry eye drop - £1.95
- Superdrug irritated eye drops - £3.49
- Optrex itchy eye dropes at Boots - £3.79
- Benedryl naturease allergy spray at Morrisons - £4
- Opticrom hay fever 2 per cent eye drops at Asda and Sainsbury's - £4.50
One of the most frustrating and painful side affects of hay fever is itchy eyes, which can be treated with some drops.
For our comparison we looked at eye drops that contain the active ingredient sodium cromoglicate.
The chepest one we found was again at Wilko, where its own brand dry eye drop costs just £1.95, compared to Optrex hay fever relief eye drops that costs £5 from Tesco.
Superdrug's irritated eye drops will set you back £3.49, while Optrex at Boots costs £3.79.
Remember, there are other eye drops available over-the-counter that contain different active ingredients that may save you even more cash.
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