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Spring (and arguably summer) has officially sprung, with parts of the UK reaching a sizzling 28 degrees celsius this week. But as excited as many of us are about a warm few months of bike rides, picnics and BBQs, the season also brings something many unlucky individuals are all too familiar with. The dreaded summer allergy – hay fever.
What Is Hay Fever?
Hay fever is a common summer allergy to pollen, reacting when it comes into contact with the cells that line the eyes, nose and mouth. Pollen is a fine powder from plants and there are lots of different tyres of it. Grass pollen seems to be the most lethal to those with hay fever, with 90% of sufferers allergic to it.
When somebody with hay fever comes into contact with pollen, their body will start overreacting and producing allergic antibodies to deter it. Your body reacts in a similar way to other allergens, such as mould, and house dust mites. The chemicals released by your immune system are sent out to protect you from what has mistakenly been perceived as an infection, It is these chemicals that cause the infamous symptoms of hay fever.
How Does Hay Fever Affect Your Eyes?
Your eyes are one of the most common areas affected by hay fever, causing discomfort in the following ways:
Itchy eyes
One of the most common symptoms of hay fever are itchy eyes, which is a reaction to them being irritated. Remind yourself of how sore and irritated your eyes become when you get shampoo in your eye. Unpleasant, right? Those that suffer from hay fever can experience this kind of discomfort and irritation in their eyes.
Red Eyes
When our eyes are irritated, they become red. The redness comes from the swelling blood vessels on the white outer surface of the eyes and is essentially the inflammatory response to your eye whilst it’s irritated.
You can see how hay fever becomes a vicious cycle when it comes to your eyes.
Whilst it’s tempting to rub your eyes, this is likely to cause more redness, as it increases the irritating and can damage other blood vessels.
Watery eyes
Watery eyes from this summer allergy is not only an annoyance, but can reduce your vision, as the extra water produced distorts the way the light falls onto the surface of your eye, which then makes your eyesight blurry. Whilst your body is producing these tears in an attempt to flush out the pollen irritant, it makes it frustrating to get on with your day-to-day tasks.
To make matters worse, once your watery tears start to try, the tears thicken and become sticky, making your eyesight even more blurred.
Puffy / Swollen eyes
In some cases, hay fever can cause the eyes to become sore, swollen and puffed up. This happens when your blood vessels become inflamed and dilate, which then brings more fluid into the tissues affected.
Puffy eyes can last for a couple of hours until the irritation has reduced and your blood vessels restore themselves to their normal size.
Hay Fever Remedies And Treatment
The impact of hay fever on our eyes can be extremely frustrating. But every cloud has a silver lining and the good news is that it’s extremely unlikely that any long term damage will occur to your eyes, and these symptoms will eventually pass.
Some ways to treat and reduce irritated eyes from hay fever include:
Antihistamine
Antihistamines will be the first port of call for any hay fever sufferer. They come in tablet form, as a nasal spray and as eye drops and significantly reduce the symptoms of hay fever. Antihistamines work by blocking the action of the chemical histamine, which the body releases when it thinks it’s under attack from an allergen. This stops the symptoms of the allergic reaction.
You can use antihistamines as:
- an “as-required” treatment – you start to feel the effects of hay fever and take them when you first notice you’re developing the symptoms.
- a preventative treatment – for when you know there’s going to be a high pollen count you take them before leaving the house in the morning.
Antihistamines will be the first port of call for any hay fever sufferer. They come in tablet form, as a nasal spray and as eye drops and significantly reduce the symptoms of hay fever. Antihistamines work by blocking the action of the chemical histamine, which the body releases when it thinks it’s under attack from an allergen. This stops the symptoms of the allergic reaction.
Eye drops
The most common symptoms of hay fever that affects eyes include redness, itchiness and watering. Eye drops can be picked up from your local pharmacist to tackle these annoying problems, they include antihistamines that reduce the inflammation and will relieve symptoms.
Eye drops are without a doubt one of the most effective hay fever remedies readily available on the market, and according to Health Awareness, hay fever sufferers should act preventatively and use eye drops before allergies kick in. Most eye drops take 5 – 14 days to work at their best and most beneficial.
You should always check the patient information leaflet that comes with eye drops to learn the correct way to use them. They are widely used and have been shown to be extremely safe, although side effects can include stinging or a burning sensation in your eyes.
How To Prevent Hay Fever?
Here are a few tips on how to prevent getting bouts of hay fever. It’s always better to be preventive of a problem rather than treating the symptoms of it. Taking these steps will likely prevent the reasons why you’re getting hay fever symtoms in the first plce:
Wear Wraparound Sunglasses
Thess will help stop the pollen getting into your eyes, even if they’re not quite your style.
Wash Up After Been Outside
This will wash away any pollen that is still on you and reduce irritation as a result
Get treatment sooner rather than later – starting treatment early can keep your hay fever mild, as the more sensitive your body becomes the worse your symptoms to this summer allergy could get as the hot months continue.
You can also bathe your eyes regularly in cold water – this will help soothe your eyes and reduce irritation
Try and avoid wearing contact lenses in hot, dry and dusty environments – contact lenses are likely to worsen the irritation. If you wear them, try and put sunglasses on top for a form of protection
Watch Out For Pollen Count
Pollen count:
Different pollens are released, and peak, at different times throughout the year. The Met Office breaks down the pollen seasons into three main sections:
- Late March – Mid May: Tree Pollen
- Mid May – July: Grass Pollen
- End of June – September: Weed Pollen
Knowing which pollen causes your allergies and the time frame of it’s peak period helps sufferers prepare. Be ready to take drops ahead of the period, ensuring you can be most effective in protecting yourself. Usually, the pollen count is delivered along with the weather on news channels across the UK. You can also watch how pollen counts will change over forthcoming days using this map, provided by the Met Office.
Get your eyes protected as early as possible and take all the precautions to ensure you can enjoy the summer with healthy, happy vision.
