Hayfever and Black Flies

Just so you don’t start to think that everything is rosy in New Zealand, I have encountered two serious problems: Hayfever, and Black Flies.

From the moment I arrived in Christchurch, my allergies went berserk. I was constantly sneezing and stuffed up, and my throat and roof-of-mouth itched unbearably.

I had brought a good supply of Loratadine (ie. Claritin), which is usually sufficient to overcome my hayfever. After taking a double dose for a few days, it was clear that Loratadine was completely ineffective.

I went to a clinic to make an appointment with a doctor to get a better allergy medicine. Fortunately, the nurse saved me some money by pointing to that, in New Zealand, there are a number of other hayfever medications available over-the-counter (unlike the U.S.).

I have tried “Razeen” and “Telfast”, both of which are more effective than Loratadine, but still not completely satisfactory.

Telfast is quite expensive. I first tried the 180mg tablet ($3 apiece), which is very effective for seven or eight hours. It is supposed to be a 24 hour dose. When that ran out, I went to another pharmacy, and commented on the shorter effective time. He told me to try three 60mg tablets ($1 apiece) throughout the day. This improves the time issue, but it is not as strong.

In Queenstown, I have switched back to Razeen, for the moment, as it seems a little better here. (On the South Coast and Milford area, the Telfast was better.)

The other problem is the Black Flies. They need blood to feed their eggs, and they get it by biting people. Unlike a mosquito, the Black Fly does not have a stinger. Like a mosquito, it injects an anticoagulant into you, which raises an itchy welt.

The Black Fly bite welts stay for many days! They are far more nasty than mosquito bites.

Fortunately, a good deet-based repellant keeps them off; also, they cannot bite through even thin clothes. Unfortunately, they are very good at finding the one unprotected area that you failed to cover up with clothes or repellant!