Hayfever – Causes, Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment

With the hayfever season upon us, life can become very difficult for the estimated 9 to 15 million people in the U.K that suffer from it. Hayfever or allergic rhinitis to use it’s medical name is caused by the allergic reaction of the body to pollen in the air you breathe. Unfortunately, it tends to run in families so if one of your family members has it, you are also likely to suffer from it. In the U.K, the pollen season starts from around March when trees such as Birch begin to release pollen right through to September when grasses release theirs.

Causes: A reaction to pollen released by plants is the main cause of hayfever. The body believes erronously that the pollen is harmful and releases antibodies to fight off these foreign invaders. Antibodies are proteins that attach themselves to foreign invaders allowing them to be cleared. In the of hayfever sufferers a special type of antibody, known as Immunoglobulin E (IgE), is released to attack the pollen triggering the release of further chemicals, including histamine. Histamine is a substance which attaches to the cells in your body and irritates them. It is the histamines that cause the symptoms of an allergic reaction.

Symptoms: 

• An itchy throat 
• Runny or blocked nose,  
• Watery or/and itchy eyes  
• Violent Sneezing 
• Lethargy  
• Loss of concentration.

Prevention: There are a few things that can be done to reduce your exposure to pollen. These include:

• Keep an eye on the pollen count and avoid going out if possible on days the pollen count is high. The pollen count is usually highest in the early morning, late afternoon and early evening.
• Protect your eyes with wraparound sunglasses to prevent pollen from entering the eyes.
• Take a shower and change your clothes once you get back indoors if you have been outdoors.
• Buy a pollen filter for your car and keep the windows shut when driving.
• Dry your clothes indoors , especially on days when the pollen count is high.
• Wash and towel down your pets before they come back indoors if they’ve been outdoors.
• Use a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter in your bedroom.

Treatment: Ideally, the best way to treat an allergy is to avoid it in the first place. In the case of hayfever though, it is not ideal to lock yourself up in a room to avoid the pollen! There are different medicines on the market that can help to cope with hayfever. These include:

• Antihistamines: These work by blocking the effect of histamines which are released during an allergic reaction including sneezing, itchy or runny noses. They are not so effective with blocked noses however. Although they can be obtained without a prescription over the counter, always consult your GP before starting any medication and be sure to follow the leaflet that accompanies the medicine. If using antihistamine tablets, it is advisable to go for a non-drowsy one that won’t affect normal everyday occurences such as driving.
• Nasal sprays and eye drops:  These are applied directly either to the eyes or nose. They work in different ways.
  Decongestants shrink the blood vessels in the nose thereby unblocking the nose. A rare side effect of decongestants is an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. They should be used only a few days at a time after consultation with your GP.
  Anti-inflammatory nasal sprays and drops as their name suggests reduce nasal inflammation and contain corticosteroids, which are based on cortisol but are altered to improve their effectiveness in treating hay fever symptoms. They are especially effective at dealing with the sneezing, itching, soreness and watery discharge associated with hay fever. For an even more effective relief, they can be combined with anti-histamine tablets.
  Sodium Cromoglycate: These work by preventing tissues becoming inflamed when an allergic reaction occurs and are also used in eye drops.
• Immunotherapy or Desensitisation:  Is a vaccine given over a course of years to get the body used to the pollen. The frequency of injections get further and further apart and the amount of trigger pollen you are given with each injection is increased so that your body slowly adjusts and gets used to it, realising that it is not a threat to you.
• Acupuncture: There have been claims that these relieve or prevent hayfever but they have never been scientifically proven. It is thought to work that by inserting needles into ‘pressure points’ the body’s immune system is stimulated helping it fight off an allergen.

Hayfever is a nuisance but you needn’t let it ruin your life. With the information above, we hope you can still get the best out of summer and if all else fails…book a flight to some exotic destination free from those pesky plants that cause all these problems. Now where’s my passport…

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