Hay fever help!!

This photo legit gives me nightmares

 

If you hear the word summer and instantly think of sniffing, itching and pure pain then you are probably a hay fever sufferer. If I am right and you are a hay fever sufferer, welcome to the club, I feel your pain. I hope this article helps as I have combined research and my own experience to give you the best ways to combat hay fever this summer.

 

 

1.   The first way to reduce symptoms of hay fever is to improve your lifestyle in general. This includes eating well, sleeping plenty and exercising. Studies have shown that hay fever sufferers that exercise and sleep well, receive the mildest symptoms. Also, a healthy diet strengthens your body so it can fight the allergy more effectively. However guys be careful! You might want to either speak to a doctor or research on trusty google as some healthy foods have been shown to increase the severity of your sniffing and sneezing.

 

2.   Obviously, if you are a hay fever sufferer, you should definitely be taking medicine to help you cope. Either prescription or non-prescription tablets with anti-histamine help to reduce allergic reactions. Also, don’t forget about nasal sprays and eye drops because it is often these poor facial organs that suffer the most. These can be bought a lot of the time from drug stores or stronger ones can be prescribed by doctors. Most tablets say take one a day but realistically, you can take 1-3 a day if they are over a longer period and it is a particularly bad day for hay fever.

 

3.   Avoid smoking, alcohol and other irritant chemicals if you’re feeling vulnerable to hay fever. Might sound like a bit of a bummer, especially if you want a nice glass of Pimms during a summer picnic. But these contain irritants and histimmine that can trigger allergy attacks.

 

 

 

4.   Something else you need to consider when trying to conquer hay fever is the causes. We all know that it’s that wretched pollen that makes our noses run and eyes water; we need to think of ways to avoid pollen:

 

-Pollen levels are highest in the morning and the evening so try to avoid going outside at these times for long periods. Shutting the windows and doors during these times is also a good idea. And whilst we’re on pollen levels, before going out for a long time, check the weather forecast as it includes the pollen levels. This means that you have an idea of how bad your hay fever is going to be so you can take medicine accordingly.

 

-         Pollen also has the nasty habit of getting everywhere! Your clothes, hair, nose… So after a particularly bad day for hay fever, make sure you wash your clothes and hair thoroughly so it doesn’t continue to cause suffering for longer than absolutely necessary.

 

-         If you are having a quiet day in but are still feeling a lil bit rough, try closing all the windows and doors. This will stop pollen from entering your house therefore preventing your pain!

 

So although you will probably feel a bit grumbly whenever there are high pollen levels, hay fever attacks are when your symptoms become suddenly severe and uncontrollable. This is painful alright. I have sat rubbing my eyes for a good 15 minutes straight during a hay fever attack… But that wasn’t the most helpful thing to do. Here are my tips on coping with hay fever attacks wherever you are:

 

At Home

 

Hay fever attacks are awful wherever you are, but getting one during the day at home is probably the easiest to cure. If you get itchy eyes then DO NOT RUB YOUR EYES. Instead, try applying any cold clean objects to your eyes for instant relief. This could be frozen peas or an ice pack. Be careful to make sure that your chosen object is clean (probably by wrapping it in something that you know is clean and sanitary.) One of my favourite solutions to itchy eyes at home is to wet a couple of cottons pads with cold water then leaving it on my eyes for a minute or two. This helps clean and cool your eyes as well as blocking any more pollen.

 

 

If you get a runny nose (not to sound obvious), but firstly blow your nose and then try using a nasal spray. These sprays are really good for instant relief and should help out a bit.

 

But the best advice for a hay fever attack at home is to have a shower. I cannot express how refreshing a cool shower is whilst heavily suffering from hay fever. It cleans the pollen out of your hair and clothes, furthermore the steam helps to stop pollen from getting into your eyes.

 

 

 

Out/ at School

 

Unfortunately, unlike at home, you cannot simply jump in the shower if you are out and suffer from a hay fever attack. Obviously you cannot cure it completely but try and minimize it as effectively as you can. Hopefully by taking medication before and whilst you are out, you can avoid extreme attacks.

 

The best you can do against itchy eyes is using any water you have to clear out your eyes. Eye drops can also really help if you have them with you and sun glasses help to stop more pollen from getting into your eyes (as well as blocking the blood shot look that looks a bit questionable.)

 

Much like when you are at home, the most you can do for a runny nose is blowing it and using a nasal spray if possible.

 

Use water you have to give you face a bit of a clean as it helps to refresh and cool your face which reduces your suffering.

At night

Hay fever attacks can occur at any time and I must say that having one at night is possibly the worst. It causes lack of sleep which will not leave you in the best mood the next day.

 

So what can you do?
Drink water. This may not help directly but it cools you down internally and should help you get back to sleep.

 

Place a wet flannel by the side of your bed so if your eyes stat getting itchy at night you can cover them with a flannel to stop irritation. Also by your bed you should have a packet of tissues, a nasal spray and a packet of tablets. It may say to only take one hay fever tablet a day but if you took one in the morning then it certainly won’t harm you to take one before bed or at night to help with a hay fever attack.

 

I hope this helped, don't let hay fever ruin your summer!

 

See you next time,

Laura Stone x