Many of us presume that because we have reached maybe our 30’s, 40’s
or 50’s and have never suffered from hay fever that we can safely assume
that we will never suffer from it.
However a growing number of middle aged people who have never
suffered before from an allergic reaction to pollen before, are
discovering for the first time this year the misery of a constantly
runny nose, itchy streaming eyes and a prickly throat that just won’t
clear.
“Each year my colleagues and I see more and more middle aged men and
older patients coming to our clinics for the very first time”, says Dr
Suraniith Seneviratne, a consultant in clinical immunology and allergy
at The Royal Free Hospital in London.
Dr Seneviratne went on to add: “The idea that allergies affect only
young people is I’m afraid, a bit of a myth.” Around 26 per cent of the
adult population (12million people) suffer from allergic rhinitis, a
term which covers all kinds of reactions to allergens, including hay
fever. However al least a third of those (more than four million) are
between the ages of 45 to 65 according to research company Datamonitor
Healthcare, and according to experts that is set to rise.
There are three main factors that are claimed to be behind this, with
the first being our washed out summer that experts claim has created a
perfect storm for hay fever.
According to Patrick Suchon health business manager at the
Meteorological Office: “Grass pollen, which is thought to cause 90 per
cent of all hay fever, has had a bumper season. The heavy rain has
created a particularly lush crop of grasses this year and while the rain
dampens down the pollen count, when it stops and the sun comes out as
it did last week; the pollen count goes very high, very quickly, as the
plants make the most of the sunshine. Another issue is that because of
the wet damp weather, mould spores which come from fungi such as
mushrooms and decaying vegetation, which usually don’t appear until very
late summer and early autumn, are being released early.”
The second factor claimed to be behind developing hay fever late in
life is the fact that our immune system can start to show signs of wear
and tear as we get older. As we get older our immune system can start to
become compromised by illness, long term stress or simply through
ageing.
Lindsey McManus, deputy chief executive of the charity Allergy UK
says: “A weak immune system doesn’t mean you will get hay fever, but it
could mean that you are more susceptible to it. We hear from people for
whom hay fever becomes a problem after a severe illness or a run of
nasty viruses or bugs.”
According to Professor Roy Kennedy of the National Pollen and
Aerobiology Research Unit, the third reason causing people to develop
hay fever later on in life is the introduction of new allergens.
Professor Kennedy explains: “There are a lot of new species of plant
being introduced in the UK. For example ragweed, which came from America
and is now spreading throughout Europe, is a highly allergic plant
producing very high rates of pollen. Added to this ragweed produces more
pollen in wet years.”
There are a number of medicines available to treat hay fever including Loratadine, a non-drowsy antihistamine which can provide relief from the symptoms of hay fever, Nasonex nasal spray
which is a nasal corticosteroid spray for the relief of congestion,
sneezing, itching and a runny nose. Prevalin is another nasal spray that
lines the inside of your nose and actually deactivates the pollen, and
finally there’s Alomide allergy eye drops that can bring relief from red, itchy, watery and puffy eyes if used regularly.
Medical Specialists is an online pharmacy established since 1994 that
can provide prescription hay fever medication such as Nasonex,
following a simple online consultation with one of our in house Doctors.
Our resident Pharmacists will then dispense and post out your
medications for next day delivery.
Following the recent expansion of our chemist shop, we now offer the previously mentioned products; Prevalin allergy nasal spray, Prevalin allergy kids nasal spray and Alomide allergy eye drops, which can all help to ease the symptoms of hay fever.
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