A runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing – whatever your hay fever symptoms, it’s no surprise if you’ve had a flare-up recently. During spring, both tree and grass pollen is released into the air. If you’re allergic to the proteins they contain, your nose, eyes, throat and sinuses can become swollen, irritated and inflamed. “Many people are suffering from hay fever just now because the pollen count is high, thanks in part to climate change,” says Dr Nisa Aslam, GP from Typharm’s Skin Life Sciences Foundation. “Plus the pollen season is getting longer.” The immune function plays an important role in an allergic reactions, she explains. “People who suffer from hay fever often have a family history of not just hay fever, but also skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis, which can often be borne out of problems with the immune system.” The weather can also be a contributing factor in how badly you’re affected. “Some hay fever sufferers may be experiencing a sudden spike in their symptoms a bit earlier than usual, this may be due to the recent prolonged wet and windy weather,” says Claire Nevinson, superintendent pharmacist at Boots. “On a daily basis, rainfall tends to decrease pollen, but over a period of months, intermittent wet days tend to produce a more severe hay fever season overall.” Conditions could be about to get even worse. A recent study by the University of Worcester, published in the Science of The Total Environment journal, warned that it could be one of the worst seasons for birch pollen on record. The severity is due to two things. “Firstly, higher than average temperatures last June, when the pollen is produced, allowed greater potential for high pollen levels,” says Dr Beverley Adams-Groom, senior pollen forecaster at the university. “Secondly, birch trees have a biennial pattern of pollen production, one mild year and one severe year, and this year was already expected to be a high year.” So what can you do if your hay fever is much worse than usual at the moment? The first step is to avoid exposure to the pollen that affects you the most. “Allergens responsible for hay fever include grass pollens and tree pollens [spring and summer], weed pollens and fungal mould spores,” says Dr Aslam. “Watch the daily pollen forecasts. Don’t go outside when the pollen count is high and keep all windows shut.” Preventive medicines can help to reduce symptoms if you know in advance when you’re going to be exposed to pollen. “This can be a steroid nasal spray one to two weeks before symptoms start,” says Dr Aslam. Alternatively, natural nasal sprays “can help to prevent the symptoms of hayfever and other types of allergic rhinitis by forming a protective film in our inner nose, stopping allergens that we breathe in from trying to enter our respiratory system”, she says. Similarly, ointments like Vaseline can act as a pollen trap. “Apply a barrier balm of petroleum jelly around your nose to trap the pollen and help relieve dry and uncomfortable skin from repetitive nose blowing,” Ms Nevinson says. “Shower and change your clothes after you have been outside to wash pollen off and wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting into your eyes.” Read More Seasonal allergies tips and tricks as pollen count rises What is the link between pollen and eye infections? Hay fever may be mistaken for Covid, warns expert Why do heatwaves in the UK feel hotter than abroad? The startling and grim discoveries unearthed by the climate crisis Earth’s CO2 hits highest recorded level in human history

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Samantha Womack has said she would’ve delayed her own cancer treatment in solidarity with striking NHS staff who “shouldn’t be eating from food banks”. The former EastEnders actor, 50, announced she had been diagnosed with “brutal” breast cancer in August last year – shortly after Dame Olivia Newton-John died from the disease. Last December, NHS doctors and nurses went on a nationwide strike demanding better pay amid a cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation. Describing herself as a “huge advocate” of England’s national health service, she called it “one of the best gifts we have” in an interview with Press Association. She added: “But when you’ve got the people who are working as hard as they are doing the hours they are, not being supported, even if it would have delayed my own personal treatment, “I would have been out there fighting with them, because I’m absolutely desperate for them to be paid properly and appropriately for what they do,” she continued. “They certainly shouldn’t be eating from food banks.” She also told the agency Newton-John’s death made Womack want to share her own diagnosis, “because I thought everyone knows someone that’s got cancer”. “It was very poignant for me when I got my diagnosis that she had lost her battle and they happened within the same timeframe,” she explained. Womack, who played Ronnie Mitchell on the hit BBC soap until 2017, told fans in January 2023 that she had overcome breast cancer. The British actor is now lending her support to a campaign enabling greater access to a new AI breast cancer diagnostic tool called Digistain. The UK’s first breast cancer risk profiling solution, Digistain helps patients better understand their cancer and the specific treatment that will most benefit them. Womack said she didn’t know about Digistain when her cancer was diagnosed, and that she was “anxious not to have chemotherapy” if she didn’t require the “brutal treatment”. “I knew that there was a test called the Oncotype test, which is very similar....(but) it’s incredibly expensive so it’s just not available to most people,” she added. Womack said the test gives a ratio of how beneficial chemotherapy would be and she was “on the fence” so had two rounds before making the decision to stop. Last October, Womack gave fans a health update while receiving the treatment, explaining that she had gotten her appetite back but was struggling with migraines. Elsewhere in the interview on Friday (12 May), Womack reflected on life after being given the all-clear and how it has changed her perspective. “It’s apparent in every little thing that you think,” she continued. “It’s a bit like learning to think and speak in a different language and it’s quite exhausting, because you’re not quite the same person that you were so everything is just slightly shaded in a different colour.” Read More Rainy bike rides and jellybean bribes: The secrets of royal coronation photographer Hugo Burnand Taylor Swift fans react to new photo ‘confirming’ Matty Healy romance: ‘I’m going to cry’ The Bear star Jeremy Allen White’s wife Addison Timlin reportedly files for divorce Meghan is ‘cuckoo’ in royal nest and her ‘woke hang-ups’ will destroy marriage, says Labour grandee Robert De Niro reveals name of newborn daughter as he shares first photo of seventh child

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