The NHS website received more than 122,650 visits from people looking for hay fever advice last week as pollen counts reached some of their highest levels of the year.
One person visits the site's hay fever advice pages every three seconds on Sunday, according to NHS England, which reports a weekly increase in visitors of threefold over the previous five weeks.
The allergy typically manifests between late March and September, a time of high pollen counts, warm, windy, and humidity.
There is no known cure, but most symptoms can be managed with over-the-counter medication.
They comprise:.
- sneezing.
- coughing.
- a runny or blocked nose.
- red, itchy or watery eyes.
- headaches.
- earache .
- losing the sense of smell.
People with asthma may also suffer worse symptoms than usual over the coming days. Thunderstorms are predicted for parts of the UK and water breaks down pollen granules into smaller particles that can lodge deeper into the airways in the lungs.
The pollen count is set to be high or very high across most of the UK this week - and the NHS website features recommendations on how to manage symptoms, including:.
- putting petroleum jelly around the nostrils, to trap pollen.
- showering and changing clothes after being outside, to wash off pollen.
- staying indoors with doors and windows shut.
- buying a pollen filter for cars and a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter for vacuum cleaners.
- not cutting the grass or keeping fresh flowers inside.
