The programmer's fear of the pollen count

I'm dribbling snot out of my nose. The flow of mucus has backed up to my eyes and my ears are starting to fill up. I sleep with my mouth open, it's the only way I can breathe, and my own snores wake me up. In the morning the inside of my mouth feels like an old leather sofa that's been chewed on by a slobbering beagle. Small children are scared by the things that come out of my nose when I blow it. Hooray for spring!

I only ever got mild hayfever in the UK. Sneezes, itchy eyes that would last a week or two and then not bother me for another year.

Australia has decided it hates me, and has dispatched floral agents to disable me. They've replaced all the anti-histamine in the chemists with placebos, none of it makes any difference. I've tried Claratyne. No effect. I tried two tablets of Zyrtec yesterday, and all that did was make me dizzy. They don't sell Piriton here, so I'm going to google for the active ingredient and see if there's anything similar. It used to work in the UK, but who knows if it will be able to fight off this evil plague.

If that doesn't work I'm going to invest in some industrial decongestants and ride out the spring on a wave of snot.

UPDATE: The active ingredient in Piriton is chlorphenamine maleate. To the Pharmacy!