Hayfever

The spring garden has woken from its long, cold winter slumber. Those once bare plants are bursting into bud.

Trees are blossoming, bees are a-buzzing and everything is starting to grow. Spring is a bright and beautiful time of the year…unless you suffer from hay fever.

It’s not fair is it? Nature putting on it’s very best show and you’re feeling miserable – itchy eyes, ticklish throat, wheezing and sneezing you. What can we do to help? First let’s find out more about hay fever.

What is hayfever?
Hay fever is a term we use for allergies that affect the nose. It is a reaction of the immune system to triggers such as pollens, dust and animals.

What are the causes?
Generally we associated hay fever with spring as a common cause of hay fever is the airborne pollens in the air at springtime.

How does it affect people?
Hay fever causes people to experience a runny or blocked nose, watery eyes, itchy throat and sometimes headaches.

What are some simple things people can do to minimise their hay fever symptoms around the garden – (removing weeds)
It’s possible to reduce your exposure to allergens to help minimise hay fever symptoms. For example, pick plants that don’t release seeds but instead are pollinated by birds or insects. Splash your eyes out with water to help wash out pollen and reduce your exposure to dusty areas.

Having hay fever doesn’t mean not having a colourful garden. There are plenty of flowering, low allergy plants you can grow. Asthma Australia has an excellent list on their website. www.asthmaaustralia.org.au

Roses provide loads of colour and scent without clouds of pollen.
Camellias are a low allergy winter and spring delight
Annuals such as pansy’s, petunias, snapdragons won’t make your nose run.

Apart from planting alternatives, your local Chemplus Pharmacy has plenty of hay fever solutions.

There are some products which can help treat hayfever. For example, antihistamine tablets are often a one-a-day tablet which can help relieve symptoms. Nasal sprays are also very effective and can work quickly to help relieve nasal symptoms such as a runny nose. For those people who suffer from red, itchy eyes, there are eye drops available to treat these symptoms specifically.

As always, make sure you ask your Chemplus Pharmacist which medication will be best for you and let them know if your symptoms persist.