Allergy & Hay fever

Allergies are defined as the body’s overreaction to a certain, non-harmful substance known as an allergen. Allergies can vary depending on the individual and what may affect you, may not affect others. There are a wide range of allergens that cause allergies with the most common being dust, pollen, animal dander, food, latex and insect bites/stings. When your body encounters an allergen, it activates the immune system and releases a chemical called histamine. Histamine is responsible for causing symptoms such as a runny nose, irritation of the eyes, itchy rashes, sneezing and worsening of asthma. Allergies are very common and are thought to affect 1 in 4 people in the UK at some point in their life. Allergies usually begin in childhood and can subside as you get older, but they can also develop in adults and be lifelong.

Hay fever or allergic rhinitis is one of the most common allergic conditions in the UK and is believed to affect up to 30% of all adults and 40% of all children. Hay fever is caused by an allergic reaction to pollen from grass, trees and weeds. It is a seasonal condition that is mostly seen between late March and September as the pollen count is highest, especially when the weather is warm and windy. The most common symptoms associated with hay fever are a runny/blocked nose, watery eyes and sneezing.

The main advice for the management of allergies is to remove or limit exposure to the allergen, however, this is not always possible. There are a number of preventative measures that can be taken to reduce the severity of hay fever such as keeping windows in your house or car closed, changing clothes when you return from being outside and avoiding areas with high amounts of pollen where possible. You can check the daily pollen count via the following link from the Met Office.

We understand that these measures may not always be enough to deal with the unpleasant symptoms of hay fever and that is why we offer a broad range of licensed treatments that can help reduce the severity of your symptoms. The treatments work by decreasing the amount of histamine in the body to help make your allergies more manageable, helping you to carry on with your day and get the most out of the summer weather.