Ask Dr Miriam

Q I suffer from hay fever and it’s worse at night. This puzzles me because I would have thought I come into contact with more pollen during the day when I’m outside.

A Yes, what you have noticed is common to many hay fever sufferers and yes, it’s counterintuitive.

The reasons why hay fever can be worse at night may be because pollen dust clings to your skin and particularly your hair which, when you sleep, rubs off on your pillow and you’re exposed to pollen very close to your face, nose, eyes and mouth during the night. One way of overcoming this, if your hay fever is severe, is to wash your hair before you go to bed. Best would be to take a shower so that your hair and all of your skin is cleansed of pollen. Another conundrum is that hay fever tends to be worse in towns than in the country. The reasons for this say the experts, is city pollution. Fine particulate matter from diesel fumes make hay fever worse.