Seasonal Allergies and Hayfever: How to Gain Essential Relief
Wondering if your runny nose and watery eyes are hayfever symptoms or something else? Learn about the most common hayfever causes and treatment options for quick symptom relief.
What is hayfever?
Hayfever or allergic rhinitis is an allergic response that occurs in your body when you encounter certain substances, known as allergens, like pet dander (proteins in the animal’s dried flakes of dead skin), mould, dust mites and pollen.
For many people, these allergens are harmless. But if you have hayfever, your immune system will launch an attack against these allergens. If these allergens enter your nose, your nasal passages become inflamed and you produce more mucus. As a result, you may develop a range of symptoms, which can be mild or severe.
Why are allergies more common in spring?
Your hayfever symptoms may be stronger in spring, when there’s a high amount of pollen in the air. Trees, grasses, and weeds release their pollen into the air to fertilise other plants. If pollen gets into your nose, your immune system will attack and you may experience allergy symptoms.
But if you experience seasonal allergies, you can still enjoy the outdoors. Knowing the best times to go outdoors, avoiding windy days, wearing sunglasses and hats, and having treatments on hand for your symptoms can help you manage your hayfever and enjoy spring.
Hayfever symptoms
The most common hayfever symptoms include:
- Sneezing
- Runny or blocked nose
- Itchy ears, nose, throat and eyes
- Watery eyes
- Headaches.
Everyone experiences hayfever symptoms differently. Some people experience mild symptoms, while others may experience moderate to severe symptoms.
Steps to gain relief
The first step towards getting hayfever relief is identifying the allergen trigger. Visit your healthcare professional to discuss your symptoms, when and where they occur and they will assess the need for an allergy test to help determine which substance is causing your hayfever symptoms. The most common allergy tests are skin pricks and blood tests.
Knowing your hayfever triggers will help your healthcare professional to develop an effective treatment and management plan for you.
While it’s not possible to get rid of hayfever altogether, you can develop treatment and management strategies to reduce and prevent symptoms and get relief.
To help relieve existing hayfever symptoms, the following treatments may help:
- Intranasal corticosteroids – Nasal sprays that can reduce the inflammation that cause uncomfortable allergic rhinitis symptoms like nasal congestion, sneezing, runny nose, itchy nose and eyes.
- Antihistamines – available from pharmacies as tablets, syrups, nasal sprays and eye drops, help to provide rapid relief of sneezing, runny nose, itchy watery eyes and itchy skin (tablets and syrups).
- Eye drops – drops can help soothe watery, red, itchy eyes.
- Decongestant nasal spray – these sprays can help provide quick relief but shouldn’t be used for more than a few days at a time (speak to your healthcare professional for specific advice).
- Natural remedies, like saline sprays and steam – can help to clear a blocked nose by washing nasal passages and removing allergens and mucus.
While the above list can help you to relieve existing hayfever symptoms, it’s best to try and prevent symptoms from occurring if possible by minimising exposure to your allergen triggers. For prevention, try the following tips:
- Reduce exposure to allergens – avoid being outdoors on high-pollen days, keep pets in separate rooms at home, avoid activities where you may be exposed to your allergy triggers, get rid of plants that spread pollen
- Shower after being outdoors – pollen can settle on your hair and clothes, so showering will help to get rid of it
- Monitor pollen in the air – being aware of high-pollen count days will help you to know when to avoid spending a lot of time outdoors. Be prepared by checking your local pollen forecast.
- Stay indoors on windy days and during and after thunderstorms in pollen seasons – When it rains or is humid, pollen grains can absorb moisture and burst open, releasing hundreds of small pollen particles that can be inhaled into the lungs.
If you’re experiencing any allergy symptoms, speak to your healthcare professional for an allergy test and treatment plan for you.
The materials on this site have been prepared for general information purposes only. They are not intended to be relied on as a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your healthcare professional for any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.