It’s hayfever hell for millions as the pollen count reaches a 10-year high

WHILE the unusually warm spring has brought delight to many people, spare a thought for the hayfever sufferers forced to sneeze their way through it.

The pollen count has hit its most severe level for a decade, the Met Office has warned, with conditions set at its maximum rating of ‘very high’.

Up to 20million Britons suffer from hayfever – of whom 95 per cent are allergic to grass pollen. The grass pollen count is currently at its seasonal peak.

The Met Office said the pollen levels at present are the highest since 2008, with the warm, dry and breezy conditions ideal for wafting pollen into our noses and throats.

The Met Office’s Nicola Maxey said yesterday: ‘As I understand it, the reason we have such high pollen levels this year is because we have had perfect weather for pollen so far this year.

‘It’s been lovely and warm, followed by rain, and then dry days with breezes that lift the pollen off the grass, plants and trees.’ Miss Maxey added that although pollen counts were unlikely to break records ‘it is more severe than average’.

The Met Office calculates pollen levels by ‘grain per cubic meter over 24 hours’, with 150 considered high. In some regions, the pollen count has reached ‘many hundreds’.

A survey by the Met Office found 41 per cent of hayfever suffers say their symptoms are so bad it ruins their entire summer. But 57 per cent do not even know what type of pollen affects them and only 49 per cent take antihistamines to combat the effects.

Research shows hayfever is most likely to be caused by the UK’s 150 grass varieties. While there is no cure, NHS experts recommend ‘putting Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen, wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting into your eyes and stay indoors whenever possible’.