Hay fever misery for thousands in Stockport

21st April 2017

Stockport’s 60,000 hay fever sufferers face more misery with the tree pollen lasting longer than normal and the prediction of an early start to the grass pollen season.

The mild winter followed by a warmer than normal spring created ‘optimum’ conditions for the early start to the hay fever season so people are already feeling the effects of tree pollen.

For those 15,000 people who suffer with a tree pollen-based hay fever the misery began about 10 days earlier than last year.

And for the rest – the 45,000 allergic to grass pollen – the hay fever season will also begin earlier than usual. Normally it suddenly starts in the last week of May but, because of the warmer than average temperatures, it’s likely to build up steadily throughout May.

Both types of hay fever can cause sore eyes, a constant runny nose, and headaches as well as making your asthma worse.

But there is no reason to suffer in silence as your local high street pharmacists have a range of treatments to help ease your symptoms.

It is sometimes possible to reduce the symptoms of hay fever by taking some basic precautions, such as:

• wearing wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting in your eyes when you are outdoors
• changing your clothes and taking a shower after being outdoors to remove the pollen on your body
• staying indoors on days when the pollen count is high (over 50).

You would normally only need to see your GP if you can’t reduce your symptoms by using over the counter medicines or you experience persistent complications of hay fever, such as worsening of asthma or repeated episodes of sinusitis.