As Winter Leaves, Prepare For Your Summer Allergies
The winter period seems to finally be leaving us as the nights grow shorter and we get to enjoy a bit more daylight. The snow and ice of the winter period looks to be finally subsiding in most of the UK and many people will be turning their minds towards the summer months. Sadly for some UK residents they’ll be switching their winter cold and flu medicine for a different kind: Hay fever medication.
Hay fever and summer allergies can strike us in a range of ways such as running or blocked up noses and streaming or itchy eyes, it is very inconvenient and so there are many difference treatments available to combat the effect grass, tree and plant pollen can have on us.
It may seem a bit early to begin worrying about the pollen count but this is statistically the best time of year to start preparing for the oncoming summer months. The idea is to build up your body’s tolerance for pollen and other airborne allergens slowly, building up to the high levels we often get during summer.
There are plenty of treatments which will be starting to appear on the shelves of your local pharmacy in the form of antihistamine tablets or nasal sprays. Using these products can help get your body used to the pollen and build up defences, many hay fever sufferers have commented that some of the nasal spray treatments used before the pollen sets in can keep their symptoms at bay for the whole of the summer. Some sufferers have found that they need to visit their GP in order to get stronger medication especially for those that suffer from very itchy eyes.
Severely itchy eyes can be irresistible to rub which can cause the sufferer’s eyes to get puffy and sore, getting to your doctor if this is beginning to happen is vital as you could unwittingly do serious damage to your eyes, and your doctor can prescribe anti inflammatory drops to help reduce the dry, itchy sensation. Contact lens wearers should avoid wearing their lenses ideally and use glasses instead so that your eyes get more oxygen.
Some people have found that certain dietary adjustments have helped combat hay fever such as cutting back on their dairy intake can help clear their sinuses and mucus, honey is a good product to begin incorporating into your diet as it can provide small doses of pollen to help build up our resilience. Other vitamin C enriched food and drinks can be helpful just like when you have a cold or the flu as well.