NOW BRITAIN’S ON 77F HEALTH ALERT
Pollution and pollen misery as heat rises
MILLIONS of people who suffer from allergies are at risk from rising pollen levels and pollution triggered by the warmer weather.
A quarter of the country’s 16 million hay fever sufferers are already flocking to GP sur geries for antihistamines as a result of the early burst of summer.
Experts warn things are about to get worse with pollution levels going through the roof. Tempera- tures will hit 77F ( 25C) tomorrow as a freak blast of hot air full of Saharan dust arrives from the Continent.
Allergy sufferers are being urged to keep medication to hand and not exercise outdoors.
Pollution will be very high across a huge swathe of southern Britain with moderate to high forecasts elsewhere from today.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “Adults and children with lung
problems and adults with heart problems should reduce strenuous physical exertion, particularly outdoors.
“People with asthma may fi nd they need to use their reliever inhaler more often. Older people should also reduce physical exertion.”
Doctors say waiting rooms are already busy with people suffering from runny eyes and streaming noses weeks earlier than usual. They are seeing more people becoming sensitive to pollen – especially from birch which is causing the current spike.
Andrew Williams, nurse consultant in allergy at Homerton Hospital in east London, said: “People have already been coming in with symptoms triggered by the London plane trees.
Sensitised
“Now we are seeing high birch pollen levels, a lot of sufferers are presenting slightly earlier than usual as the problem gets worse.
“The amount of pollen released seems to be going up but also the number of people becoming sensitised. It is not clear why.”
He said that more hay fever sufferers are in urban areas than the country because of pollution caused by particulates – solid matter from dust and car fumes.
He added: “If nasal passages are already infl amed from the pollen then diesel particulates in the air can become problematic.” Hay fever treatments have been fl ying off the shelves with the cool and wet March blamed for a surge in symptoms.
Max Wiseberg, of HayMax balms, said: “We’ve already seen a 25 per cent increase in sales compared to this time last year.”
Allergy UK’s Maureen Jenkins said: “Pollen and particulate matter in the air cling together and make symptoms worse.
“It is important to take medication early.”
Air pollution kills 4,000 people in the capital and almost 30,000 nationwide each year.
A spokesman for the City of London said: “We suffer from the worst air pollution in the UK.
“The threat to human health is real, it causes serious respiratory problems and infl ammation in the lining of the lungs which reduces immunity to lung infections like bronchitis and can cause cancer.”
Forecasters are predicting the hot spell will go into the weekend. Piers Corbyn, of WeatherAction, said: “It is going to be very warm and sunny, with strong sunshine making it very hot and dry.”
As well as the warm air from the Mediterranean, an added hazard for sunworshippers is an invasion of giant jellyfi sh.
The tentacle- clad creatures usually found in more southern climes have shocked beachgoers in Devon. The barrel jellyfi sh which have tentacles up to six foot long were spotted in waves during low tide at Preston Sands, Paignton.