You give me fever

Published on Friday 30 May 2008 12:01

HAY FEVER, that is… making spring, summer and autumn a misery for millions of sufferers. The available remedies are not to be sniffed at.

As if the damp start to 2008 wasn't miserable enough, now we've been warned it could signal the worst year ever for hay fever sufferers. Even more bad news: stock up on the tissues now because the symptoms for Britain's estimated 12 million sufferers have well and truly kicked in.

"We've had a fairly wet spring followed by a very early summer," says Dr Ken Lawton of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Scotland. "This means a lot of the trees, like the birches and the willows and the ash, start flowering. Then you get the dry weather through the flowering season and that dries out the flowers and allows for the release of pollen into the atmosphere."

The problem now is tree pollen, which will be followed by grass pollen at the height of summer and fungal spores as we approach the autumn. Some unlucky people will suffer allergies to the lot, meaning their nose runs constantly from April to October.

Lucy Sheard is one such unfortunate. The 24-year-old teacher from Edinburgh grew up in the countryside and thought she was immune to the effects of pollen. But when she was 21, she suddenly developed the classic symptoms: runny nose, foggy head and sore, itchy eyes. "It was weird," she says. "At first I thought it was flu. Then I started getting blotches on my skin as well."

She went to her GP, who recognised the symptoms of hay fever straight away. "It really surprised me," she says. "I thought you normally get hay fever as a child. What made it even more strange is that I'd grown up in the countryside, but I only got it when I moved to the city."

Her symptoms begin every year in early spring and last until autumn, but can be particularly bad if there's an unusually warm day at any time of year. "Around exam times it was really hard," she says. "I would have to wear sunglasses most of the time. You feel a bit ridiculous wearing sunglasses in the evenings, but my eyes were really puffy and sore and I couldn't wear eye make-up. It's no fun going out at the weekend with puffy eyes and a runny nose.

"Sometimes people thought I'd been crying because my eyes were all teary, so that was a bit embarrassing. I'd be like, 'No, really, I'm fine.'"

She tried antihistamines but found they made her drowsy and she worried about the large chunk of the year she would be taking them. "Then someone suggested I try local honey – but I didn't find that massively helpful, particularly for the streaming eyes."

The symptoms are more irritating than life-threatening, agrees Dr Lawton. "It feels as though you have a cold in the middle of the summer, so it's a beautiful sunny day and you have a blocked nose and runny, itchy eyes. Sunglasses don't relieve any symptoms; they just cover the puffy eyes, and they don't stop the pollen getting to the eyes.

"The hay fever response is triggered by inhaling the pollen. It strikes at a very sensitive part high up in the nose and, because the eyes and the nose are all linked by the tear duct, as soon as the allergic reaction kicks off, the chemicals that cause the allergy spread throughout the system."

However, he says, modern antihistamines are much better their predecessors. "The old antihistamines were quite sedating and had to be taken two or three times a day." The new ones, in contrast, don't cause drowsiness and need only be taken once a day.

Whether you are a new sufferer or have been battling hay fever for years, Dr Lawton recommends planning ahead to get through the summer. "If you know you're going out for a picnic, take your antihistamine before you go: don't wait for symptoms to establish. Summer's for enjoying, it's not for going around wrapped up in face masks."

He also suggests avoiding areas where pollen levels are likely to be highest, such as parks and grassland. "Go to the beach, as long as there are not lots of sand dunes with lots of lovely grasses. Or head for the hills, because not many people tend to be allergic to things like heather pollens. And listen to the warnings on the weather forecast – they are reasonably accurate," he adds. "But, really, there is very little you can do beyond taking antihistamine."

On the up-side, he says that, just as some people suddenly develop hay fever in their twenties, others grow out of it. "I used to get quite bad hay fever, then I worked during the summer for four years on the back of a bucket truck as a student. The dust and pollen just overwhelmed my system, I think, and I haven't been bothered with it since. But not everyone can work as a scaffy!"

As for Sheard, a friend recommended Allerclear, a natural eyedrop remedy, which really helped. "Summer is a time everyone looks forward to getting outside to meet friends," she says. "It's so nice I can do that now and I'm not snivelly and fluey."

Hay fever: the treatments

Pollinex Quattro

Human trials are currently taking place for this new vaccine, which is said to reduce symptoms by up to a quarter and lasts all year. If successful, it could be available within two years.

Antihistamine

Available over the counter at pharmacies or by prescription from your GP, antihistamine acts by stopping the chemical histamine – which causes the allergic reaction – from working in the body. Modern antihistamines do not cause drowsiness and are taken in pill form once a day, although they are also available in liquid form for small babies.

Steroid nasal sprays

Also available over the counter or by prescription, these reduce inflammation in the nasal passages and are particularly helpful for those who suffer from a runny, blocked nose. They also relieve eye symptoms.

Allerclear

A herbal remedy that comes in the form of eyedrops (containing the herb eyebright), a nasal spray (with Dead Sea salts) or tablets (a combination of garlic and echinacea). Available from chemists and health food stores.

Natural remedies

Our Sunday Supplement contributor, Gill Hames, from Neal's Yard Remedies in Edinburgh, recommends drinking three cups of eyebright and nettle tea every day to help relieve congestion, while eyebright and elderflower can help with the itchy throat and eyes and runny nose.

Quercetin capsules contain a bioflavonoid with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antihistamine properties that help reduce the allergic reaction to pollen.

Sodium cromoglycate

Comes in the form of eyedrops or a nasal spray and blocks the allergic reaction happening at all. However, says Dr Lawton, "I don't find it very effective for the vast majority of people. It's a case of finding what's best for you."