How to enjoy summer with Hay Fever

How to enjoy summer with Hay Fever

If you’ve ever experienced hay fever, you’ll know that the months of March through to September are a blur of sneezing, itchy eyes and runny noses. While the best way to tackle symptoms will always be with anti-histamines, there are a few other things we can do to make things easier for those family members who are prone to pollen allergies.

According to the NHS direct, these are the basic symptoms of Hay Fever:

 

  • Sneezing and coughing
  • Runny or blocked nose
  • Itchy, red or watery eyes
  • Itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears
  • Loss of smell
  • Headache
  • Earache

People with additional conditions, such as asthma or skin irritations, may find that these start to play up with the warmer weather too. If at any point you’re concerned about a family member’s hey fever, do seek the advice of a GP, as they can prescribe stronger antihistamines or steroids to help combat the more extreme allergies.

For those of us who pop a pill or spray a nasal spray and hope for the best, here are a few tips that can help you enjoy being outside in the sun.

The first bit of advice would be to avoid going outside. But we all know that isn’t that exciting.

So, here are some things you can do without shutting yourself away until Autumn.

Firstly, keep windows and doors shut as much as possible, and be sure that if you have pets that go between indoors and out, that anyone with allergies spends minimal time with them, as pollen can be collected on their coats.

Make sure you’re vacuuming regularly to pick up any stray pollen, dusting with a damp cloth will also help.
If you’re leaving the house, you can put Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen and prevent it from causing too much of a reaction, when you get home, you can shower and change your clothes to wash as much pollen from you as possible. Wearing wrap-around sunglasses will also help stop pollen getting to your eyes.

Another tip would be to dry clothes inside rather than out, to limit the amount of pollen they can pick up.

It is also recommended that you get a pollen filter fitted in your car, most newer cars come with this already in place, but older vehicles might not – check your manufacturer’s book and if you feel you need one, speak to a local mechanic.

Have you got any other tips for dealing with hay fever? Drop us a message on Facebook or Twitter.

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