FROM stuffing up your nose, to tickling your throat and making your head feel fuzzy, pollen allergies can manifest in a number of different parts of your body.
Itchy, red and streaming eyes is a misery most hay fever sufferers know all too well.
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But the agony of hay fever might not end there for some.
A GP has warned that the ongoing ‘pollen bomb’ swirling around the UK could trigger three types of nasty infections in hay fever sufferers’ eyes.
GP, Dr Nisa Aslam advisor to www.goldeneyecare.co.uk eye infection treatment, said it could increase the risk of allergic eye conditions and eye infections, such as conjunctivitis, styes and blepharitis, bringing unexpected misery for many.
She explained that hay fever is caused by the reaction of the immune system to pollen, which triggers the release of histamine.
This in turn will cause unpleasant hay fever symptoms to manifest, such as a runny, blocked nose, sneezing, coughing, and itchy, red eyes.
Dr Aslam said your peepers can be especially sensitive to allergens like pollen, which causes hay fever.
“When pollen invades the eyes, they become itchy, watery, swollen and red,” she explained.
“And if we rub our eyes – which is very tempting when they itch – they become susceptible to infections such as styes, conjunctivitis or blepharitis.”
Styes are small, painful lumps that appear on the eyelid, which can make the sensitive skin around your peeper red and swollen.
Conjunctivitis – also known as red or pink eye – can be caused by allergies and infections, leaving peepers red, burning and gritty feeling, with pus that sticks to lashes.
Finally, blepharitis can makes eyelids swollen and itchy, with flakes and crusts clogging the roots of the lashes.
“Such eye conditions require immediate treatment to prevent them getting worse,” Dr Aslam said.
She recommended the GoldenEye Eye Ointment for all three eye conditions, as it contains antiseptics to help stop bacteria from growing and multiplying, or the Golden Eye Drops, which also have antifungal properties
For acute bacterial conjunctivitis, she recommended the GoldenEye Antibiotic Eye Ointment.
Hay fever symptoms and how to treat them
HAY FEVER can cause a range of different symptoms, affecting your nose, throat, eyes and sometimes even your ears.
Typical symptoms include:
- Sneezing and coughing
- A runny or blocked nose
- Itchy, red or watery eyes
- Itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears
Less commonly, you may also experience:
- Loss of smell
- Pain around the sides of your head and your forehead caused by blocked sinuses
- Headache
- Earache
- Tiredness
To ease sneezing or a runny and blocked nose, try using a nasal spray alongside antihistamines.
And to soothe dry, sore and watery eyes, allergy relief drops can be used to help.
Here’s other things you can do to ease your symptoms when the pollen count is high.
- Put Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen
- Wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen from getting into your eyes
- Shower and change your clothes after you have been outside to wash pollen off
- Stay indoors whenever possible
- Keep windows and doors shut as much as possible
- Vacuum regularly and dust with a damp cloth
- Buy a pollen filter for the air vents in your car and a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter
- Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you have a high temperature or you do not feel well enough to do your normal activities
Source: NHS
The NHS recommends treating these eye conditions at home, relieving your peepers with warm flannels and painkillers and getting advise from a pharmacist if they don’t go away within a few days.
Dr Aslam also shared some tips for taking care of your eyes during hay fever season, to prevent infections in the first place.
“Thoroughly wash the eyes each night to get rid of any pollen left in the eye.
“Try to keep windows, including car windows, closed to prevent entry of pollen and for best eye protection wear wraparound sunglasses when the pollen count is high.
“Keep an eye on the Met Office pollen forecast. Also avoid going outside when the pollen count is at its highest – in the middle of the morning or the early evening.”
The Met Office has been issuing warnings about surging pollen counts, with ‘very high’ levels expected to continue until the end of this week in most of the UK.
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More intense pollen seasons
Dr Aslam said: “Hay fever is getting increasingly common, with 49 per cent of people suffering from hay fever symptoms.
“The pollen season is getting longer which is considered to be caused by climate change.
“Atmospheric change affects the release of pollen and a study showed that the start of the pollen season is occurring 10-40 days earlier and with greater intensity.
“Northern countries like the UK are expected to fare the worst because of larger temperature increases.”
Read more on the Scottish Sun
And contrary to what you might assume, your hay fever symptoms might be worse in the city rather than the countryside.
According to the GP: “Tree pollen could be worse in cities due to increasing traffic and urbanisation and research has also found that outdoor air pollution increases the allergic strength of tree pollen as a result of changing the structure of the pollen proteins.”
The best hay fever treatments on a budget
1. Allergy Eye Mist
If you hate the thought of drops, consider an eye mist which works in the same way – just spray it once or twice onto closed eyelids to to three times a day.
Try Optrex hay fever relief eye drops, 10ml – £6, from Tesco.
2. Cetirizine Allergy & Hay Fever Tablets
Products containing Cetirizine work to combat allergies without making you feel tired.
Superdrug’s pack of 30 tablets comes in at £5.45.
3. Hay Fever Relief Nasal Spray
For over-the-counter relief you could try Pirinase Allergy Relief Nasal Spray for Adults x 60 Sprays from Pharmacy2U, £4.98
Or for something on prescription, try Beclometasone Nasal Spray from ChemistClick, £5.49.
4. Vaseline
Dabbing a little bit of petroleum jelly around the edges of your nose works as a barrier to trap pollen before you breathe it in.
Get a 50g pot for £1.80 at Boots.
5. The Eye Doctor Allergy Hay Fever Compress
The Eye Doctor Allergy Hay Fever Compress has thermal dynamic fabric, which uses regulated evaporation to cool more rapidly.
It helps to reduce puffiness, swelling, itching, inflammation and even headaches, and comes with an adjustable comfy strap.
You can buy it at Superdrug for £8.99.
6. Throat spray
Ultra Chloraseptic Anaesthetic Throat Spray contains the active ingredient benzocaine which belongs to the group of medicines called local anaesthetics.
You can buy Ultra Chloraseptic Anaesthetic Throat Spray for £6 from Amazon