IF you currently have a blocked up nose, watery and itchy eyes, and feel very tired it’s a safe bet you could be suffering from that curse of Summer – hay fever.

Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis as it is officially known, is inflammation of the nasal lining caused by an allergic trigger. This is often pollen, not necessarily the fine powder from flowers which are pollinated by insects but the wind-distributed pollen from trees and grass.

The hay fever season usually runs from late March to September but is at its worst around June and July when temperatures are higher. It’s a very common problem, affecting 10 to 15 per cent of children and 26 per cent of adults in the UK, significantly affecting quality of life.

“Research has shown that hay fever sufferers can drop as much as a grade between their mock exams – not in the hay fever season – and their actual exams which are,” explained Amena Warner, Head of Clinical Services at Allergy UK.

Symptoms of hay fever include wheezing and coughing, a runny or blocked nose, itchy red or watery eyes, itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears, loss of smell, pain around your temples and forehead, headache, earache and feeling tired.

NHS advice is DO:

n Put Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen

n Wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting into your eyes

n Shower and change your clothes after you’ve been outside to wash off pollen

n Stay indoors whenever possible

n Keep windows and doors shut as much as possible

n Vacuum regularly and dust with a damp cloth

n Buy a pollen filter for the air vents in your car and a vacuum cleaner with a special HEPA filter

DON’T:

n Cut grass or walk on grass

n Spend too much time outside

n Keep fresh flowers in the house

n Smoke or be around smoke – it makes your symptoms worse

n Dry clothes outside as they can catch pollen

A pharmacist can give advice and suggest the best treatments, like antihistamine drops, tablets or nasal sprays.

See your GP if symptoms get worse or they don’t improve after taking medicines from the pharmacy. Your doctor could prescribe steroids and if these fail to work, could refer you for immunotherapy which usually starts in the Winter, about three months before the hay fever season begins.

“It’s also worth visiting the National Pollen Aerobiology Research Unit website (https://www.worcester.ac.uk/discover/national-pollen-and-aerobiology-research-unit.html),” added Amena Warner, “as this contains all kinds of useful information for hay fever sufferers including low-pollen destinations at home and abroad.”

One sufferer is Sophie Parden, a 28 year-old who works in business development for Bolton company Full Circle IT.

At the beginning of last Summer, she suddenly began with what she thought was a heavy cold. “It hit me one day as soon as I woke up,” she stated. “My nose was really blocked and I felt very sleepy.

“When it didn’t clear, I went to my GP and he diagnosed hay fever. I was really surprised as I’d never had it before.”

On the doctor’s advice, Sophie started taking regular over-the-counter antihistamines and did feel better. She hoped it was a one-off “but as soon as the warm weather began in early May this year, it started again and I’m now back on the anti-histamines and feeling sleepy again which is difficult at work.

“I never really knew that hay fever felt so uncomfortable,” she added, “but now I’ve got plenty of sympathy with other sufferers.”

n For help and information with allergy go to the Allergy UK website at https://www.allergyuk.org/ or call the helpline on 01322 619898