NEWS

Download a free pollen calendar to help hay fever sufferers manage their allergy, by understanding when pollen is released

While the increase in temperature and the amount of daylight hours is a welcome phenomenon associated with the coming of spring, approximately 1 in 4 UK citizens suffer from an allergy to pollen. During the spring and summer around 2.5 % off all GP visits are due to hay fever symptoms impacting upon our daily lives, and cost the UK public around 50 million in medication costs.

Many hay fever sufferers experience puffy and sore eyes once the hay fever season kicks in. As one of the most visible effects of an allergy to pollen, puffy eyes are the bane of many people’s summer as they can cause a reduction in vision and can be extremely uncomfortable. Combining red, puffy and itchy eyes with a runny nose, a wheezy chest and a general feeling of being unwell can mean a pretty miserable summer for 1 in 4 UK citizens. Treating puffy eyes is relatively straightforward, but not all treatments will work for each person. First of all book an appointment with your doctor to make sure that your hay fever medication is up to date and as effective as it can be. You will also want to eliminate any other causes such as a lack of sleep, too much salt in your diet or high levels of stress which can all cause puffy eyes.

As the hay fever season reaches its peak GPs are urging hay fever sufferers to begin closing their windows and doors from 5pm until 10am where possible as UK temperatures finally begin to rise. The thinking behind this statement is that as pollen is primarily released into the atmosphere as the sun rises, the pollen levels are at their highest when pollen begins to descend later in the day. The theory is that sufferers will not be as affected if their doors and windows are kept closed during these peak times. It is important to expand on this by saying that windows should be closed or screened during times of high wind speeds as pollen can travel very far very fast, so even though the pollen count is not high in your area, you may still end up suffering.

There is nothing worse than going abroad to enjoy some sunshine and suffering with the miserable effects of hay fever. Every summer, thousands of holidaymakers suffer with the typical sneezes, runny nose and itchy eye symptoms. If you are planning a trip abroad, then it could be an idea to find out which holiday destinations are least likely to affect your irritations. Make the most of your holiday abroad and find out which destinations to avoid and when to avoid them this summer.

The changeable summer weather this season has given us long periods of rain mingled with short bursts of sunny and dry days. This weather, whilst not very enjoyable, has been perfect for grasses, weeds and other plants. It has allowed them to build up massive pollen stores, which are then released in the occasional bouts of warmer weather. To help you to survive this seemingly endless hayfever season, we’ve put together a list of top online tools to help you combat hayfever.

The hayfever season is continuing as strongly as ever and still shows no sign of abating. As we previously reported, experts are predicting that the hayfever season will continue right on until the end of August. This is bad news for businesses as well as for individual hayfever sufferers.

Hayfever sufferers may have thought that their suffering would be drawing gradually to its end this month, but the latest forecasts suggest that this is not the case. Experts have predicted that the hayfever season will last for up to a month longer than usual. Beverley Adams-Groom, from the National Pollen Research Unit said “We can expect this very changeable weather to extend the pollen season. We can see a continued risk for a long time yet.”

Being inflicted with the dreaded itchy eyes, runny nose and general run down feeling often associated with thehay fever season is bad enough during the day, but at night it can feel like a real battle to get enough quality sleep. Below we have included some tips to help you relax and sleep when hay fever is plotting against you!

Participating in sporting events can be difficult for hay fever sufferers, there is nothing worse than running around a football pitch barely being able to see or about to score a goal on the hockey pitch and then bursting into a fit of sneezes. Hay fever affects even the best of Athletes, but don’t worry; there are a few simple steps which you can take to lessen the severity of your symptoms…