Dr James Wright’s nine tips to beat hay fever

DR James Wright shares his nine tips to allay watery eyes, an itchy or dribbling nose and constant coughing brought on by hay fever. And you’ll be surprised by how easy they are.

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FOR hay fever sufferers, spring typically means watery eyes, an itchy or dribbling nose and constant coughing.

Fortunately, a dry winter and early bushfire season has reduced the amount of pollen in the air from the millions of hectares of flowering grasses.

But leading doctors, including head of the immunology and allergy unit at Campbelltown Hospital Dr Connie Katelaris, have warned sufferers not to be complacent.

Here are nine tips to ward off “Spring fever”.

DRINK WATER

Dr Wright advises to drink several glasses of water a day.

Drink several glasses of cool water every day. Filtering blood through the kidneys helps to eliminate histamine. Go for regular still water instead of sparkling or flavoured water that contain toxins that could trigger allergies.

CHILL OUT

Cooling the skin down reverses the symptoms of itchy, hot, skin.

Face washers, cold packs or even a pack of peas can be kept in the fridge or freezer and applied to hot, itchy and sensitive skin. Histamine causes blood vessels to dilate, which makes the skin sensitive, itchy, hot and uncomfortable, and cooling the skin down directly reverses the symptoms.

KEEP COOL

Air-conditioning the house, or finding employment in an airconditioned office is helpful. Air-conditioners cool down hot air and remove some of the offending airborne particles that cause hay fever.

Air-conditioners remove some of the airborne particles that cause hay fever.

HAVE A COLD SHOWER

Avoid hot showers and have cold one instead.

Avoid hot showers that dilate blood vessels and aggravate hay fever. Keep showers lukewarm and end with a blast of cool to cold water. When applying soap, dab the skin rather than scrubbing it to avoid irritation.

KEEP WINDOWS CLOSED

Keep car and bedroom windows closed.

Keep car windows closed and install an air filter on the airconditioner.

Keep bedroom windows closed.

SIDESTEP SPRING CLEANING

Spring cleaning dredges up all sorts of spores and pollens.

It stands to reason a clean house would have fewer nasties, but the annual spring clean dredges up all sorts of spores and pollens. Sweeping, dusting, vacuuming or otherwise disturbing dusty surfaces fills the air with allergens that if inhaled, quickly brings on hay fever. Ask someone else, who doesn’t suffer from hay fever, to do the spring cleaning.

BUY A GOOD VACUUM CLEANER

Invest in a good vacuum cleaner.

Cheap vacuums often miss fine particles that could bring on hay fever. A fine filtering system is essential.

DON’T SCRATCH

Scratching dry, itchy skin will only make it worse.

Scratching dry, parched and itchy skin may leave welts, as the sensitive skin surface swells. Vigorous scratching can cause hives, which will only worsen the maddening itch.

AVOID TRIGGERS

Work out what triggers your hay fever — and avoid it.

Food, clothing, cosmetics, beverages, certain suburbs, houses and animals can all be triggers for hay fever. Work out what sets you off and avoid it.