POLLEN BOMB

From a top allergy expert, the 10 tips guaranteed to help hay fever victims beat this summer's

THIS has been one of the worst summers in living memory for Ireland’s 950,000 hay fever sufferers — and it’s why, as an adult and children’s allergy consultant, I’m seeing more patients in my clinic than ever desperately seeking advice.

The weather is largely to blame — the warm April temperatures shooed away the freezing Beast from the East, triggering a so-called ‘pollen bomb’ and kickstarting the mass release of pollen from birch, plane and oak trees, and then grass.

Essentially, heat and moisture (rain) after a cold spell stimulate plants to pollinate excessively (pollen is their reproductive part).

This has all been exacerbated by the recent scorching temperatures and a lack of wind; as a result, the particles stay suspended in the air, and levels build up.

Grass pollen, which is the worst culprit for causing symptoms and affects 95% of Irish sufferers, is set to reach its peak, with pollen levels generally forecasted to climb to their highest level since 2006.

This is why some people who may think that they’ve never had hay fever before ‘suddenly’ develop symptoms in later life.

In fact, they may have had mild symptoms before which simply didn’t register. However, the weather isn’t the entire story.

There’s no doubt that treating hay fever (seasonal allergic rhinitis, as it’s known medically) can be challenging, as the symptoms are wide-ranging.

However, I believe the biggest issue is that people don’t take their medication as they should, and instead come into clinics asking about advanced treatment such as immunotherapy (which involves being given small amounts of pollen as an injection or tablet to slowly build up immunity).

WHILE immunotherapy can be an option for those with severe hay fever who have exhausted all other options, it’s costly (around €4,000, as patients have to take it for three years for it to be effective).

The cost has driven some hay fever sufferers to try easily available, cheaper versions of immunotherapy perhaps via the internet, health stores or alternative practitioners.

These are advertised as enzy mepotentiated immunotherapy and come in the form of nasal sprays that coat the nose in a protective layer, torches that emit infrared light into the nose, or arm bands that stimulate an acupuncture meridian — but, crucially, they’ve not been proven to work.

In many cases immunotherapy is not necessary, either.

The key is simple: take your antihistamines — either cetirizine oratadine (available over the counter) or fexofenadine (on prescription) — properly.

These drugs work by stopping the production of a substance called histamine, which is released when the body detects something harmful — in this case pollen. It is the release of histamine which causes hay fever symptoms.

And this is where sufferers can go wrong.

Antihistamines have to be taken every day, regardless of symptoms, rather than as a reflex reaction to a

bout of, say, heavy sneezing. This way you build up a tolerance throughout the season and make a premptive strike against exposure. Unfortunately so many people don’t know this, so suffer needlessly as they take the drugs on a sporadic basis. Ideally, start taking antihistamines regularly for a few weeks before the hay fever season kicks in, ie in late April, and take them right through until early August.

Take one every morning on an empty stomach to get the maximum benefit of absorption, and the drugs will provide 24-hour cover. That way you can potentially keep hay fever under control.

There are other simple changes that can make a big difference and are proven to be effective. Here are my top ten tips for how to protect yourself properly. . .