YOU may rub your eyes in disbelief on reading this but experts reckon a good fix for hay fever is . . .
chocolate. Oh, and by the way, chamomile tea, apples, tomatoes, onions and bell peppers also help right now as a pollen bomb wreaks misery. Millions are suffering with itchy and weeping eyes, runny noses and niggling coughs.
The summer hay fever season is upon us despite all the rain. While the unrelenting drizzle can wash away tree pollen, the grass variant spikes from May to July and water breaks it down into smaller particles that are WORSE for the allergic among us . The pollen count is forecast to rise in the South this weekend and by Tuesday everyone in England bar the North West will be up to their sore eyes in it.
The number of sufferers has trebled in the past 30 years, to one in four. Holly Shaw, a nurse adviser for charity Allergy UK, puts this down to “better diagnosis but also climate change, with warmer temperatures causing pollen seasons to start earlier and last longer”. But if the go-to remedies of daily anti-histamine tablets, nasal sprays and balms from the chemist are not doing the trick, don’t lose hope, there are other hacks you can deploy.
From regularly showering and vacuuming the home to scoffing chocs, here are some tactics not to be sneeezed at . . .
1. WEAR wraparound sunglasses and a hat with a peak or big brim or go for a face mask. 2.
On high-pollen days, bath or shower and wash your hair. Change your clothes when you get home. 3.
Avoid .