Familyhealth - Hay fever season is upon us already...

we look at way of keeping the symptoms at bay Spring is well and truly under way. Daffodils are in bloom, lambs are frolicking – oh, and the sniffles and itchy eyes are doing the rounds.

Allergies are common, affecting millions of adults and children in the UK, and as the headlines often remind us, the numbers are rising. But the severity of people’s reactions varies hugely.

For some, thankfully, allergies are just a mild irritation, while for others, they can be extremely debilitating and even potentially life-threatening.

Hay fever is one of the UK’s most common allergies, believed to affect more than 10 million people, and diagnosed cases have trebled in the past two decades.

It’s an allergic reaction to pollen – be it tree, weed, grass or shrub pollens, which the body mistakenly identifies as a threat and, in response, the immune system cranks into over-drive and chucks a load of chemicals at it.

This is the very basic concept for all allergies.

With hay fever, the resulting symptoms most often involve inflammation of the nose – sneezing, runny, drippy or blocked and itchy, which is known as allergic rhinitis, and the eyes – red, sore and watery, known as allergic conjunctivitis.

TIPS

  • Here are five top tips for minimising hay fever. For further advice and information about hay fever and other allergies, visit www.allergyuk.org
  • Keep a ‘symptom diary’ so you can identify triggers and patterns
  • Wearing wrap-around sunglasses outdoors can help protect eyes from allergens
  • Washing your hair, and changing and washing clothes when you get home can help avoid bringing pollen indoors
  • Vaseline or nasal balm rubbed around the nostrils can ‘trap’ allergens from entering your nose
  • Keep windows closed at night and in the morning, when pollen tends to be most problematic.