The summer evil...

Sneezing, runny nose, and itchy eyes are all signs of seasonal allergic rhinitis aka hay fever. The summer cold basically. I, like many other people, suffer from this annoyance and to say it gets in the way is an understatement. I suffer from it quite badly I not only get the first three signs but because I sneeze so much my throat is raw and dry and since my nose is blocked I have a problem breathing- this is what probably causes my headaches. Not good either way!

Can you believe that 1 in 5 people in the UK is affected by hay fever with the most common cause being grass pollen. While a quarter of suffers are affected by trees and only a few are triggered by weed pollen. (inserted below is a picture of the pollen calendar so if you suffer you can see what pollen is causing it). I am the unlucky one being affected by all!

From this as you can see when the chances are of being affected by pollen the most. For me I'm affected from March to October (the whole hay fever cycle) and then winter comes along with its own illnesses. If I am lucky though the weather can help.

We haven't had much of a summer which is bad as a whole but for people like me its had its perks. As the weather as been cooler the pollen levels haven't been as high, and as the hotter weather took longer to get here than usual for hay fever suffers we've had a bit of a longer break of being able to breathe (and wear eyeliner). Of course, as we're now in July the hay fever is at its highest and since some days are cooler and raining it clears the air of pollen but the next day it's back with a fresh assault. What doesn't help is people (ie. the council) choosing the hottest day to cut a field releasing all that 'lovely' pollen to those already suffering from the days assault but that deserves a whole rant to itself. I always find that when I am around people cutting their grass I feel worse what about you- comment below.

Mornings are always worse because pollen is released early in the morning. I've read so many different articles on how to reduce the affects of pollen and found these to be the best ones:
•Keep windows closed at night so pollen doesn't enter the house. (This is good because it stops the early morning pollen getting in your house and getting attached to you and your bed which later will be a problem when you go back to bed.)
•Buy a pair of wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen entering your eyes. (This is great because when you do have to be outside and walking by a field it protects your eyes a bit more as well as stopping you from rubbing your eyes in case you have pollen on your hands too.)
•Keep car windows shut when driving. (This works averagely well but I find since I live in quite a high pollen level area anyway that when I am leaving the area I can breathe better so having the windows closed don't make a lot of difference.)
•Don't mow the grass or do other work in the garden. (This I avoid anyway but if you do have to do work in your garden do it on a cloudy cooler day as pollen levels will be lower.)
•Avoid fields and large areas of grassland. (This sometimes can't be avoided and it is a nightmare when you have to walk through them but if you wear sunglasses then it averagely reduces the amount of pollen affecting you.)

There are other things to better protect yourself like tablets, eye drops, and nose sprays. The first two are brilliant at protecting you from the onslaught of pollen and nose sprays as well as Vaseline can work at reducing pollen in your nose but I found it didn't work for me because I sneezed so much but do try anything and everything!

Comment below any other ways to help get through the way for all hay fever suffers and do speak about your problems with it! I know people that don't understand it and think of it as just a cold: "oh it can't be that bad" but we as a group can say it is!
NHS hay fever page with all information needed: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/hayfever/Pages/Allabouthayfever.aspx


Update:

Just to show some of the highest places for hay fever- I live in Luton- the bright red bit.