In most cases, there’s an own-brand medication that’s identical to the brand names, here’s what’s in each tablet
Allergies have plagued me my whole life: from a dust allergy causing my childhood eczema to a brand new shellfish allergy that hit me in my twenties. And all that on top of hayfever, which didn’t strike me until the pandemic.
As such, I’m all too familiar with the hayfever tablet, and I learned from a very young age – thanks to a midwife as a mum – that you don’t need to get expensive branded medication.
So here are the drugs behind the brand names to get you through this sniffly season and save you a fortune in the meantime.
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Piriteze
- Cost: £6.15 for a pack of 14
- Drug: Cetirizine
- Alternative drug: Aldi Cetirizine Hydrochloride
- Alternative cost: £0.89 for a pack of 30
- Savings for 30 days: £12.29
Cetirizine is typically the go-to for most people. It’s a one-a-day tablet for allergies. This one is available virtually everywhere, with prices often lower than £1 for a pack of 30. Aldi sells Cetirizine for just 89p for 30 tablets.
Clarityn
- Cost: £8 for 20 tablets
- Drug: Loratadine
- Alternative drug: Aldi Hayfever & Allergy Loratadine
- Alternative cost: £0.89 for a pack of 30
- Savings for 30 days: £11.11
Like Cetirizine, Loratadine is a one-a-day tablet and proves to be pretty effective for most people. It’s often an alternative for if Cetirizine doesn’t work for you or if you can’t have it for any reason. You can buy Loratadine for less than £1 at loads of places, including Aldi, who sell it for just 89p.
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Allevia/ Pirileve
- Cost: £11.50 for 30 tablets
- Drug: Fexofenadine
- Alternative drug: Sainsbury’s Hayfever Allergy Relief Fexofenadine Tablets
- Alternative cost: £7.50 for 30 tablets
- Savings for 30 days: £4
Just a few years ago, Fexofenadine was a prescription drug, and was actually the one I was prescribed by my GP. It’s a one-a-day non drowsy tablet, and it’s a lot stronger than Cetirizine or Loratadine. It was first sold under the brand name Allevia, but other brands have started selling it too.
You can now buy own-brand Fexofenadine for much cheaper, but I’ve also found that it’s cheaper under the brand name Treathay — and it’s usually on the shelf right next to Allevia.
Benadryl Allergy Relief
- Cost: £10.75 for 24 tablets
- Drug: Acrivastine
- Alternative drug: No better priced options
Benadryl has two products, a one-a-day tablet that’s actually Cetirizine, and “Allergy Relief” which is Acrivastine, which is an effective antihistamine. Sadly, there’s yet to be an own brand alternative for this one, but I’m waiting patiently (after all, it happened with Allevia, but it took a few years). The best way I get a good price for Benadryl is by getting them on Amazon — you can get 24 tablets for as little as £7 sometimes.
Piriton
- Cost: £4.92 for 30 tablets
- Drug: Chlorphenamine
- Alternative drug: Crescent Chlorphenamine Maleate Tablets (Boots)
- Alternative cost: £2.99 for 28 tablets
- Savings for 30 tablets: £1.72
Chloraphenamine can’t be bought off the shelf — you need to get it over the counter. It’s a stronger drug, is fast acting and can be taken every four hours. It’s quite a drowsy one, which can help if you’re struggling with symptoms overnight, but isn’t really one to pop in the middle of the day if you’re not planning on having a nap.
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Do branded hayfever medications work better?
No. Branded hayfever medications that have the same active ingredients and same strength will work the same way as generic or own-brand medications. This doesn’t just apply to hayfever medications — Nurofen is Ibuprofen, Panadol is Paracetamol.
There can be some differences in how fast the drug gets into your system, or how easy it is to swallow, but the effect is the same. In other cases, there are no differences at all.
We’ve got a great guide on looking at the product line codes to see when identical products have been put into different packaging — the only difference is the marketing.
