Hayfever is usually a seasonal (mid-summer) problem but can start earlier and even drag on until late autumn. Most sufferers are troubled with grass pollen only (10,000 pollen grains fit on the tip of a pin) but a significant number are troubled with a combination of tree and grass pollen allergy. Their season starts in early spring with mild nasal irritation. By the time the summer months arrive they are already compromised so that even small amounts of grass pollen can trigger quite aggressive hay-fever. If the summer is especially warm and sunny with high surges of pollen, then those three to four months can be a write-off. For those with the extra burden of mould spore allergy hay fever misery can drag on through the autumn/fall months.
Hayfever Symptoms:
· Sneezing
· Blocked and runny nose
· Sinus congestion with headaches, especially along the forehead
· Itchy, red and watery eyes
· Puffy eyes and lower eyelids
· Cough and occasional wheeze
· Ears popping with occasional hearing impairment
· Diminished senses of taste and smell (severe hay-fever sufferers)
· Itch along the roof of mouth and back of the throat when eating certain foods
· Feeling of intense lethargy
Self-help tips:
· Check the pollen count throughout the pollen season & at times where you feel your symtoms changing, we recommend using this link - https://www.met.ie/forecasts/pollen
· Avoid areas of lush grassland
· Keep house and car windows closed during peak pollen hours of late morning and late afternoon
· Wear wraparound sunglasses to reduce pollen grains affecting the eyes
· If you can, avoid being outdoors late morning and late afternoon
· Don’t smoke and keep away from smokers (passive smoking aggravates all allergies)
· Get someone else to mow the lawn or wear a face mask if you have to cut the grass.
· Choose seaside breaks for holidays as offshore breezes blow pollen away
· Check TV, radio and newspapers for the next day’s pollen count and plan your schedule accordingly
· Put a smear of Vaseline inside each nostril to ease the soreness and to capture pollen entering the nasal passages.
· Never sleep with the bedroom window open.
· Don’t drive with the window open.
· Put used tea bags in the fridge. They make great soothing compresses to relieve swollen or puffy eyes.
· Keep an antihistamine handy for sudden allergy attacks
The pollen season varies depending on where you live and what you’re allergic to. In the UK and Ireland aggressive sneezes can be heard first along the warmer western coasts. By the end of May high pollen counts can detected countrywide (the pollen count measures the amount of pollen in the air over 24 hours). Pollen allergy misery can change with weather -related production, dispersal and quantity of pollen grains in the air. Grass pollen surges about 2 – 3 weeks earlier at sea level compared to mountainous areas. High levels of pollen occur on warm, dry and sunny days. Low levels occur on wet, damp and cold days. Rain washes pollen out of the air. Pollen is released in the morning and carried higher into the air by midday. It descends again to ‘nose-level’ in the late afternoon. Cities and dense urban areas stay warmer longer and hold pollen. Combine this with atmospheric pollution from car fumes and you can understand why city dwellers suffer more aggressive hay-fever than their country cousins.
Hay fever and asthma link
Aggressive hayfever causes both nose and sinus inflammation. However the nose and sinuses link to the lungs by a number of pathways that include nerve ending and asthma triggering blood units (called Th2). These move from the nose and sinuses to the bone marrow to produce a number of allergy chemicals which move into the blood circulation and ‘stick’ in the nose, sinuses and lungs, causing further allergic inflammation that triggers cough and wheeze.
· Hay-fever may cause nose symptoms only.
· Hay-fever often involves the sinuses as well as the nose.
· Hay-fever may provoke chest symptoms.
· Hay-fever may go hand-in-hand with asthma.
· Hay-fever in children with asthma causes more asthma-related hospital admissions and greater total days spent in hospital
Thunderstorms and asthma attacks
Thunderstorms during the pollen season can trigger asthma attacks ranging from mild to life threatening. Pollen grains are carried at ground level by the strong air currents in thunderstorms. Then the pollen grains burst, releasing their allergy provoking material (called allergens). The allergens are carried as aerosols in the wind currents and easily inhaled, penetrating deeply into the nose and sinuses and lungs triggering breathing crises. For some hay-fever sufferers this may be the first time they’ve ever experienced asthma.