22.07.2019
We spend January onwards wishing for the summer months to hurry up, and when spring and summer roll around you can see the trees blossoming and flowers blooming. Whilst this looks beautiful to the majority of us, for hayfever suffers this is their worst nightmare. Say hello to runny noses, itchy eyes and dry throats on a daily basis during hay fever season!
Hayfever works in the same way to any other allergy, with pollen being the trigger. The body’s immune system negatively reacts to the pollen, resulting in various hayfever symptoms we’re all too familiar with. Even if you don’t have hayfever yourself, there’s always some in the office or on your travels that you see suffering. You might not have known, but not everyone is allergic to the same types of pollen. There are actually 3 main different types, tree pollen, grass pollen and weed pollen and this is why people suffer from hayfever at different times throughout the year. However, the general period pains from late March to September. If you’re a hayfever sufferer yourself, or you live with someone who is, share some of these tips for dealing with hayfever to help them out!
If you’re a hayfever sufferer you’ll be very familiar with these symptoms during the summer time:
If you also have asthma, you may also:
We’ve put together our top tips for how to deal with those bothersome hayfever symptoms:
Despite the high temperatures of the summer season encouraging you to open your windows to let in a breeze, this is the worst thing you can do as a hayfever suffer! With that breeze comes in all that pollen, leaving it to settle on your bedding and other soft furnishings. This means that you’ll end up suffering inside just as much as you do outside. If you keep your curtains and blinds shut, you’ll help to keep the room a little cooler.
When you get home, make sure that you shower as soon as you can to remove any pollen that has settled on you throughout the day. Not only will you feel refreshed after a shower, but you’ll avoid triggering your allergy further. If you’re suffering during the day, wash your face and hands regularly to reduce any irritation where you can.
When the summer months roll out, many of us switch out our tumble dryers for hanging the washing outside. However, if you have hayfever, this is the worst thing that you can do. When you put on a fresh set of clothes or bedsheets, pollen will have already settled on them, which will irritate you from the get-go.
Just as pollen can settle on your skin and clothing, it can settle on furniture and flooring around your house. Even if you keep your windows and doors closed, it’s inevitable people will bring in pollen with them. To try and reduce build-up and irritation, try and vacuum and dust with a wet cloth regularly to keep pollen levels to a minimum.
As much as you may want to spend your evenings and weekends outdoors in the glorious sunshine, you won’t be able to enjoy it if your nose is constantly runny and your eyes are sore. Where you can, try and limit how much time you spend outdoors. Avoid going on on days where the pollen count is particularly high, and instead, save yourself for those glorious low pollen count days.
Unfortunately, you’re not safe from pollen when it comes to the car. Using your air conditioning brings all the pollen from the outside in. To resolve this, you can purchase a pollen filter for the air vents in your car and recirculate the air to avoid bringing any more pollen into the car. You can also look at installing a HEPA filter in your vacuum.
When you’re a hayfever sufferer, checking the pollen count will be something you’ll find yourself doing (and also praying that the count is low). The pollen count is a measure of the number of grains of pollen in a cubic meter of air, and when there is a high pollen count you’ll find you are suffering more than usual. Windy days can also be a hayfever trigger. The met office provides a great pollen forecast daily to help keep you informed.
There is a range of over the counter treatments available for people to help to treat their hayfever symptoms. Some of the most common are antihistamines, nasal sprays and eye drops. However, for severe hay fever suffers, these treatments fail to help… If this is the case for you, it might be time to try out the hayfever injection, which you can have at our clinic in London. Find out more today!
Buy using some of the tips above, combined with hayfever treatments you should be able to enjoy more of the summer months! However, if you would require some more advice, get in touch with our team for some help today.
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