Hay fever increasing due to Climate Change as doctor warns 1 in 2 people will soon have symptoms
Half of all Channel Islanders could have a hay fever allergy within the next five years.
The "significant increase" is likely down to Climate Change, according to a leading Jersey doctor.
"We're aware that the number of people with hay fever is significantly increasing," allergy expert Dr Matt Doyle explained.
"We think it's heading towards the 50% mark in the U.S. and in Northern Europe and that is almost certainly due to the warming effect in our climate.
"We see larger pollen granules, more plants releasing pollen and the pollen season extending, which unfortunately all leads to people having more and more symptoms."
Dr Doyle adds that the issue stems from more carbon dioxide in the air which plants breathe in and then leads to more pollen being released.
His top tips to combat hay fever symptoms include only drying laundry outside during the middle of the day as the amount of pollen can be particularly high in the morning and evening and then collect on clothes.
During these periods Dr Doyle says it is also important to keep windows closed and wearing wraparound sunglasses can help to reduce eye irritation.
What are some common hay fever myths?
Honey reduces hay fever symptoms
Honey reduces hay fever symptoms
For many years, honey has been thought to treat the symptoms of hay fever.
However, there is no proof that the sweet substance helps sufferers.
A study conducted at the University of Connecticut gave a group of people either pasteurised honey, unpasteurised honey or a corn syrup artificially flavoured to taste like honey.
Neither those who tried the pasteurised honey nor the unpasteurised honey experienced more relief in their symptoms than those in the placebo group.
Hay fever is caused by hay
Hay fever is caused by hay
Despite the name, hay fever actually has no link to hay.
In the 1800s, people believed the condition was caused by freshly-cut hay so they named it hay fever.
The actual cause - pollen - was not discovered until 1859 by British scientist Charles Blackley.
Hay fever is a life-long condition
Hay fever is a life-long condition
Most people find that their hay fever improves as they get older.
For 20% of sufferers, hay fever symptoms disappear completely throughout their lifetime.
Whilst some people suffer worse as children, it can also develop in later life.
Hay fever improves after rainfall
Hay fever improves after rainfall
Some people believe that rain washes pollen away, relieving hay fever sufferers of their symptoms.
This is only partly true. Whilst light-to-moderate rain can help, heavy rain spreads the pollen out in the air.
Windy conditions also increase the amount of pollen in the air.
Hay fever is worse during the day
Hay fever is worse during the day
Staying inside does help ease hay fever symptoms, but some types of pollen are more prolific during the night.
Levels of mugwort pollen have been found to increase during the day, but levels of ragweed pollen are higher, while grass and alder pollen levels don't tend to change over a 24-hour period.
In terms of medical treatment for bad hay fever, Dr Doyle recommends taking a nasal steroid spray that can be prescribed by GPs.
"Ideally what you want to do is face the floor and have the spray pointing upwards and squirt it up the nose in that position so the spray is going straight into your nasal cavity rather than sniffing it," he said.
"They generally take a week or 10 days to start to have their full effect and people often give up on them without realising it takes a while."
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