Dr Sarah Jarvis Hay fever season
We tend to think of hay fever being bad from May-July, when levels of grass pollen (the most common culprit) are at their highest. But in the 30 years I’ve been a GP, I’ve seen more and more folk contacting me about symptoms earlier in the year, often as early as March. So what’s going on, and why are people itching, snuffling and sneezing their way through the spring?
Hay fever is caused by an allergy to pollen – the fine powder produced by plants and trees to fertilise and reproduce. The medical term for hay fever is seasonal allergic rhinitis – seasonal as it tends to happen every year at the same time, rhinitis which means inflammation of the nose. Some people who are allergic to, say, house dust mites have similar symptoms all year round (so-called perennial allergic rhinitis). If you’re allergic to grass pollen, p as most hay fe ever sufferers are, you’re y likely to find your symptoms s starting in April A or May and lasting to t July. TreeTree pollen, however, is at its peak from March to May, and many people are allergic to both. If you’re unlucky enough to be allergic to weed pollens, you may find yourself affected throughout spring and summer and even into early autumn.
There are different types of allergy – the most serious causes a potentially lifethreatening condition called anaphylaxis, which affects the whole body. Symptoms here include shortness of breath, wheezing, swelling of the throat and tongue, an itchy rash, palpitations, dizziness, feeling or being sick, tummy pains and collapse.
The good news is that hay fever is a different type of reaction – it’s virtually never life-threatening, unless it triggers a severe flare-up of asthma. It’s a local reaction, which occurs where the pollen touches vulnerable points. A runny or blocked nose and sneezing are common because the allergy affects the delicate mucous membranes that line the nostrils.
Yet many people with hay fever find their discomfort extends beyond the nose. Your inner eyelids and throat are also lined with mucous membranes, so itchy, watery eyes and an itchy throat are also common. Less frequently, hay fever can lead to facial pain, headaches and loss of sense of smell.
Hay fever is part of a family of so-called atopic conditions, which include asthma and eczema – if you have one, you’re more likely to have others, and they often run in
VASELINE OR HAYMAX BALM APPLIED TO THE EDGE OF YOUR NOSTRILS CAN RELIEVE NOSE AND EYE SYMPTOMS
families. In people with asthma, high pollen levels can trigger spasm in your airways, leading to the typical wheeze, tight chest and shortness of breath of asthma. If you find your asthma worsens during hay fever season, speak to your doctor – increasing your dose of regular preventer inhaler may allow you to avoid this.
If you are among the 1 in 5 Britons who gets hay fever, there are lots of steps you can take to avoid or relieve the misery. The first is getting savvy about pollen counts, so you can avoid going out when they’re at their peak.
Pollen counts tend to be highest in the early morning (5-10am) and at dusk – it’s worth limiting time outside during those periods. While grassy areas tend to have higher pollen levels in built-up regions, hay fever can be
worsened by pollution.
Rain can be bad news for hay fever sufferers too. Grass loves a good dousing, so tends to produce more pollen in dry weather that follows wet. Keep an eye on the weather forecast or the Met Office website for the pollen count, and try to stay indoors if the count is medium or high.
Avoid drying washing on the line in summer and remove outer clothing when you get home if pollen counts are high. Consider cutting out alcohol. Beer, wine and some spirits contain histamine, which triggers hay fever.
Your pharmacist can help with medication – antihistamine tablets or nasal spray, steroid nasal sprays and allergy eye drops can be used alone or in combination.
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