Three types of hay fever in the UK – and what to do about it

“I recommend starting reasonably early. Take antihistamines as soon as pollen counts start to increase,” says Morris. “If you can't control it well, switch to nasal sprays or eye drops.”

If these options are ineffective, your general practitioner may also prescribe steroid treatment.

If you have tried these methods and still have debilitating hay fever symptoms, you may be offered immunotherapy, which involves placing small amounts of pollen under your tongue in the form of a pill or wafer. It may also come as an injection, but this is less common as oral options are more convenient for patients.

In theory, this method of controlling pollen exposure teaches the immune system to tolerate pollen instead of trying to fight it off, effectively reversing the allergy.

“It makes a huge difference to people's quality of life, especially people with grass pollen allergies, because the seasons are long and you can be really incapacitated for four months of the year,” Morris said. says. About 70% of immunotherapy patients have “excellent” results, he says, while 20% have fair results and 10% feel no relief from symptoms.

Tablets or wafers are taken daily for two months before the start of pollen season. “If you do this for three years, you can cure your hay fever in the long term,” he explains.

“That treatment lasts about 10 years, but then it wears off, so you might treat it when you're 30 and having a great time, but then suddenly you're 40 and your hay fever is starting to come back.” Then repeat the treatment. ”

However, it is not without risks. In rare cases, immunotherapy can cause severe allergic reactions, but this is more likely to happen when it's delivered as an injection, Morris says. On the other hand, tablets and wafers can cause severe itching under the tongue, which causes some patients to stop taking them.

Moreover, it is not widely available. It is estimated that only around 1,000 NHS allergy patients a year receive immunotherapy, partly due to the high cost of around £100 per month, with a three-year course costing £3,600. It will take a while.

“Many private health insurance plans won't actually pay for treatment, and the NHS will only provide cover if it's absolutely necessary. They'll probably recommend antihistamines instead,” Morris says.

Warner said immunotherapy should be more widely available, but there is a shortage of specialists to provide the treatment, with only one in every 500,000 allergy sufferers having an allergist.

Some patients are seeking another possible hay fever treatment in the form of a jab called Kenalog, the brand name for the prescription-only steroid injection triamcinolone acetonide. However, it is not approved to treat hay fever and can be dangerous because it temporarily suppresses the immune system.

“It lasts from a week to a month, and you'll get benefits for that period of time,” Morris says. “But it also has the downside of being a fairly high-dose steroid, which can cause things like osteoporosis, cataracts and diabetes, and we now frown on that. Currently, mainstream allergy clinics is not provided.”

A safer option would be to go to your GP and have them prescribe oral steroids to temporarily nip your hay fever symptoms in the bud. “In case of an emergency, you can take small doses of oral steroids for just one or two days in the middle of grass pollen season to get you through an important event such as a wedding or an exam,” he says. says.

The jury is still out on whether home remedies can alleviate hay fever, and one teaspoon of honey a day is often recommended. “The theory behind it is that there's a small amount of pollen in the honey that can effectively desensitize itself a little bit,” explains Morris. “I don't know if it will work. I haven't seen the evidence, but it's a great idea.”