You’ve started sneezing, your eyes are sore, and you know that this year’s hay fever has started. This year it seems the pollen count has been high, affecting people who don’t normally have a problem with hay fever.
Read our top tips from Alison Cullen of A. Vogel.
And read Prevent hay fever.
1. Caffeine triggers histamine release which can bring the skin up in a red, itchy, angry looking rash and dilate your blood vessels until everything feels inflamed – try green tea or herbal teas instead.
2. Dairy products are mucus forming. People prone to allergic reactions often struggle with dairy, so check out dairy-free options like goat’s milk, soya milk, almond milk, rice milk, for a start.
3. Refined sugar triggers a dramatic rise and fall of blood sugar levels, which causes an adrenalin surge that activates histamine release. Choose sweet dried or fresh fruit for a natural sugar fix instead, or stevia which is a natural sugar substitute.
4. Vitamin C acts as a natural antihistamine – fresh fruit and vegetables ensure a steady intake throughout the day. Your body can’t make or store vitamin C, so it has to be available in low, consistent doses to support your nasal lining.
5. Eat anti-inflammatory foods including blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes, blackcurrants, carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, mangoes, apricots, peaches, nectarines, papaya, pears, pineapples, prunes, plums, raisins, figs, avocadoes, herring, pilchards, sardines, salmon, pumpkinseed oil and flaxseed oil to help counter inflammation.
6. Dry clothes indoors as damp clothes on the washing line will collect pollen.
7. Undress in the bathroom not the bedroom so the pollen from clothes doesn’t float around the bedroom.
8. Spread Vaseline around the edge of each nostril to trap or block pollen. Reapply each time you blow your nose.
9. Keep an eye on the pollen count using the free A.Vogel hayfever app at www.avogel.co.uk so you know when levels are high. It uses GPS to find your location and shows forecast levels for trees, grass and weed pollen.
10. Stock up on A.Vogel Pollinosan tablets, a natural remedy containing seven tropical herbs that work on all the symptoms of hayfever and allergic rhinitis, without the drowsy side effects associated with some medicine. For best results, it can be taken a month before your symptoms usually start.
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