I’m sneezing, my skin is dry and itchy, and my eyes won’t stop watering – it must be pollen season! More of us seem to be affected each year, and in 2022 even more of us than ever due to “Super Pollen” – so I thought a few hayfever tips on coping with the symptoms and keeping beautiful for the coming weeks might be useful.
What is it?
It’s a reaction your body has when pollen comes into contact with you – through your nose, eyes, breathing it through your mouth, or even just on your skin. Your body thinks it’s something bad, so it tries to get rid of it – hence you get the runny nose, watery eyes and sore throat. Antihistamines calm down this allergic reaction to stop the symptoms.
Why is it so bad this year?
It’s been called Super Pollen this year, and it could be down to a number of things – the warm and wet May weather, climate change making everything flower earlier, and the dry, breezy weather we’ve been having in June. Whatever the cause, it’s lasting longer and hitting more people – and it looks like thunder storms could be making symptoms worse, and causing more problems for people with asthma. (More info here on the ITV News website: https://www.itv.com/news/2022-06-13/why-super-pollen-might-be-making-your-hay-fever-and-allergies-worse-right-now)
What can you do?
You can buy antihistamine tablets quite cheaply from the supermarket and take one or two per day to help with the symptoms (obviously you should make sure it’s safe for you personally to take them before you do). I also use nasal spray and eye drops to help me on days when it’s really bad.
Other top tips I can share to reduce the severity of symptoms – every little helps!
- Wear glasses instead of contact lenses – they act as a pretty good barrier to stop the pollen from reaching your eyes, and they also mean that the pollen won’t be sitting in between your eye and the lens, causing more irritation.
- Put a thin layer of Vaseline around your nostrils – this also works to stop the pollen from going in when you breathe.
- If you have a bedroom window open during the day, put a loose sheet or throw over your pillows and the top end of the duvet, then take it off at bedtime. Any pollen that’s come in during the day won’t be there to bother you at night.
- If you’re driving, keep the windows up if you can bear it, and if your car has this function, make sure the air vents are only circulating air that’s inside the car already, and not pulling in fresh air from outside.
Keeping beautiful
I know running noses and eyes aren’t the best look, but hopefully reducing the symptoms will keep that to a minimum! The strongest recommendation I have at this time of year is for looking after your skin. The hot air will be drying it out, and you’ll be losing moisture through perspiration too – so make sure you keep up your moisturising regime, and seriously up your water intake. The NHS recommends 6-8 cups a day, and more in warm weather, so make sure you’re getting it down you: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/water-drinks-nutrition/
The good news is that the pollen season won’t last forever – it should be over by mid-July, and everything should settle down again. In the meantime, you have my sympathy – and please do share any other tips you have for keeping those pesky pollen particles away!
