ON THE COVER Dr Sarah Jarvis
My Weekly’s favourite GP from TV and radio writes for you
It affects 1 in 5 of us, can make summer a misery and causes as much sneezing as a cold. It is of course hay fever; technically an allergy to grass pollen.
The medical term for hay fever is “allergic rhinitis”. Rhinitis is the medical term for inflammation of the nose.
The most common cause is an allergy to grass pollen, which affects the sensitive parts of your body it comes into contact with. These include eyes (itching, soreness), your nose (itchy, blocked or runny nose and sneezing), your throat (scratchy irritation) and sometimes sinuses (pain and blockage). When pollen comes into direct contact with the lining of your nose, eyes or throat, your body releases a chemical called histamine. Sneezing often starts on contact with pollen, runny nose within minutes and blocked nose a few hours later.
Histamine is involved in other allergic reactions, and a tendency to allergy often runs in families. If other members of your family have hay fever, asthma or eczema, you’re more prone to get one or more of them. For some reason firstborn children are also at increased risk. In severe cases, hay fever can bring on or worsen asthma symptoms.
Hay fever often starts when you’re a teenager and comes back at the same time every year. The time depends on what you’re allergic to. Grass pollen is the most common cause, and grass pollen levels are highest from May-July. Some people react to tree pollen, which abounds in spring (March-May), others to nettle or dock leaf pollen and others still to mould spores, which multiply in the autumn.
IF YOU HAVE ASTHMA, KEEP YOUR RELIEVER INHALER HANDY AT ALL TIMES DURING HAY FEVER SEASON AND WATCH OUT FOR WORSENING WHEEZE
Some people suffer from all-year round nasal irritation, known as “perennial rhinitis”. This is most often down to an allergy to house-dust mites. Medical treatments are as for hay fever, but scrupulous cleaning, washing bedlinen regularly and having wooden floors/blinds rather than carpets and curtains can help keep mite numbers down.
The first key to controlling hay fever is to log when you start getting symptoms each year. Next, keep an eye on weather reports, which usually include a regular update on pollen levels. Once you pinpoint the culprit or time of year, start using regular treatment from a week or two before your symptoms would usually start. Antihistamine tablets work within hours, but they’re more effective if taken regularly. Use nose sprays and eye drops regularly for best effect.
Lifestyle changes can cut the impact of pollen: ◆ Wear wrap-around sunglasses to keep pollen out of your eyes (so much more than just a fashion accessory!) ◆ Shower and wash hair when you come in from outside ◆ Don’t dry washing outside ◆ Try a nasal barrier like HayMax under your nose ◆ Keep car windows closed and avoid open grassy areas Treatment depends on which bit of you is most affected. Antihistamine tablets reduce itching in nose, eyes and mouth, and may cut sneezing, but won’t sort a blocked nose. Regular eye drops containing a medicine called sodium cromoglicate stop the “mast cells” of your immune system releasing histamine. Steroid nose sprays cut inflammation and tackle a blocked nose as well as itching, sneezing and a runny nose.
Decongestant nose sprays can help but shouldn’t be used for more than a few days, or they can cause a “rebound” with even worse symptoms. A combination of two or more may work if one alone isn’t enough. Next Week: Treating varicose veins
CONSIDER INVESTING IN A POLLEN FILTER FOR YOUR CAR, TO AVOID POLLEN BEING BROUGHT IN THROUGH THE AIR VENTS