What is hay fever?
Hay fever is a common allergic condition. It's thought that more than 10 million people in the UK suffer from hay fever. The main symptoms of hay fever are: Frequent sneezing, a blocked or runny nose, itchy red eyes, or an itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears.
A hay fever sufferer may occasionally experience sweating and headaches. If you suffer from asthma, this can be made worse by hay fever and care must be taken to ensure it does not become more serious.
What are the symptoms of hay fever?
The main symptoms of hay fever are:
- Frequent sneezing
- Blocked or runny nose
- Itchy, red eyes
- Itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears
A hay fever sufferer may occasionally experience sweating and headaches. If you suffer from asthma, this can be made worse by hay fever and care must be taken to ensure it does not become more serious.
What are the causes of hay fever?
Hay fever is caused by an allergy to pollen. Most commonly, it's an allergy to grass pollen that is released from the end of spring to the beginning of summer. For some people, the allergy can be related to tree pollen, which is released earlier in the year at the start of spring. Occasionally, the allergy can be related to pollen released by weeds and mould, and this can cause hay fever in sufferers that lasts from early spring all the way through summer and into the autumn.
Hay fever starts when the pollen count reaches a level that triggers a response from the sufferer’s immune system. The symptoms will vary throughout the season as the pollen count increases and falls depending on the weather. Warm sunny days produce high pollen counts, while cold damp days produce a low pollen count (although rain can beat up the pollen temporarily if it follows a warm dry spell).
How can I treat hay fever?
Hay fever cannot generally be cured. However, there are a number of ways to reduce its symptoms.
If the symptoms are mild and not too persistent, then medicines available without a prescription can be a real help. Antihistamine tablets can provide real relief when the pollen count is high and can be taken when required. Non-sedating antihistamine tablets such as fexofenadine (Telfast), cetirizine (Zirtek) and loratadine (Clarityn) are recommended for use during the day as they will not generally make you feel sleepy.
If the most troublesome symptoms are sneezing and a blocked or runny nose, a nasal spray may be helpful either in addition to antihistamine tablets or on its own.
Steroid-based nasal sprays such as Avamys, Nasonex, and Dymista are best used before your hay fever symptoms get too bad, and should be used every day during hay fever season to build up effectiveness over time. If the main problem is with itchy eyes, eye drops can be bought to reduce the occurrence of this symptom.
What do I do if my symptoms get worse?
If symptoms become more troublesome than just mild, prescription-strength treatments are available through the Pharmacy2U Online Doctor service, subject to a successful online consultation. Please follow the links for further details of each medicine.
Prescription-strength treatments are available in nasal spray format:
Eye drops available include:
Prescription