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It is estimated that 12m people across Britain suffer with hay fever.
It is estimated that 12m people across Britain suffer with hay fever.
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Season of sneeze


5/ 5/2008

IT may only be early May but some supermarkets have already run out of own-brand antihistamines and it probably won't be the last time this year they need a major re-stock.

An estimated 12m people across Britain suffer from hay fever, and many of those will already be gearing up for another round of seasonal sneezing.

The hay fever season - unlike the British summer - never seems to fail to live up to expectations. So, if you want to beat another miserable bout of sniffles this season, when is the best time to take action? John Collard, clinical director at Allergy UK, who has spent years working with sufferers, reckons the sooner you start taking tablets the better.

"If you wait until the runny nose and sneezing have started then it's going to be much more difficult to control," he explains. "You should be taking the medication two to three weeks before you normally get the symptoms."

Arming yourself with a diary is the first step, to keep track of when that pesky pollen will start to affect you.

Grass pollen

John says: "Everyone tends to link hay fever with grass pollen which is around from mid-May to early September. But while it's fair to say that more people are allergic to grass pollen than anything else, quite a lot are also allergic to tree pollen.

"The earlier trees start to pollinate in February/March, and certainly by April you're going to be affected. Then after the grass pollen starts to die down, you have weed and shrub pollen. You can be affected from now, right through until the end of autumn."

It's a long slog for the afflicted, who might be tempted to ask, why me? John says you've got your family to blame.

"Hay fever is an inherited condition. Most people will be okay for the first few years of their life, then they'll get triggered and develop the allergy. Any sort of stress on the system, like an infection, mental stress or exposure to a lot of grass pollen, can trigger this inherited tendency.

"Then your body starts making antibodies that react when they come into contact with pollen, and make chemicals like histamine, from which you get hay fever symptoms. The chance of an allergy appearing diminishes as you get older. By the time you get to your Fifties, it's pretty unlikely."

Drugs for combating allergic reactions, like antihistamines, are now commonplace in most medicine cabinets. But sadly, taking one every day will not guarantee you can breathe more easily. Most successful treatments involve a three-prong attack.

Reaction

"Hay fever has a two stage reaction," says John. "The histamine produces the immediate symptoms that you associate with hay fever; sneezing, itchy nose and red, itchy, watery eyes. They come on quickly, last a few hours and then settle down again.

"But there are also chemicals from our immune system which cause more delayed symptoms, such as the blocked-up nose, headaches, stuffiness and puffy eyes. While anti-histamines will counteract the effect of histamine, they won't do much to deal with the inflammatory symptoms.

"Steroids work much better. Most people with hay fever will need antihistamines, a steroid nasal spray and often eye drops so they're treating the whole thing effectively."

But according to John, this message doesn't always get passed on. And, in addition, people don't understand how the drugs work.

"The GP will sometimes just give someone an antihistamine, rather than all three together. And different antihistamines work differently on different people. So if you try one and it doesn't control your symptoms - don't give up, try another. It's worth trying a few to find one that suits you. People often give up on the treatment too quickly."

Once you've got the dosage right, it's a case of learning a little bit more about nature to work out when you are most likely to be affected.

Weather

"The weather has a big part to play," advises John. "Pollen is released on warm dry days. So if it's cool and damp there will be less released. And if it's raining, the pollen will be washed out of the air so the count won't be too high.

"Also, pollen is released first thing in the morning on a warm and dry day. It goes up into the air and then comes down in the evening when it cools down, so you might want to think twice about your evening walk.

"Or if you do go, wash your hair and change clothes when you come back indoors, to keep the pollen levels down in your house. And wear wrap-around sunglasses to help keep pollen out of your eyes."

In addition to conventional medicine, and practical tips, there are many other remedies available to sufferers, which range from simple herbal mixtures to injections. And in each case John says it's important to weigh up the pros and the cons.

"Things like a butterbur, which is a shrub that some experts say can produce the same results as antihistamines, and even local honey have been said to help. So these alternative remedies are certainly worth a try.

"De-sensitisation is another more extreme method," he continues. "Throughout a series of injections, the patient is gradually desensitized to pollen.

"There are long waiting lists and only the worst people get referred."

Other remedies include phototherapy, or you could try Echinacea. But John stresses: "I always recommend trying conventional medication first."

For more information and advice on hay fever visit allergyuk.org


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