Britain’s hayfever hell
MILLIONS of Britons have been hit by hayfever hell in one of the most intense and early pollen seasons in recent history.
And two months of abnormally mild weather have struck down hundreds of thousands on top of the usual 16 million sufferers.
Last night it was revealed that sales of hayfever treatments have soared by 40 per cent as the particularly harsh start to the season has sent many thousands more rushing to the chemist to buy drugs and remedies to ease their symptoms.
Professor Jean Emberlin, director of PollenUK Information, said: “The warm spring weather has promoted early grass growth and will lead to a notably early start to the grass pollen season in most areas.
“Grass pollen production is likely to be above average, giving the potential for very high counts in June. Fine weather is forecast for late May through to early June which will lead to high grass pollen counts, giving an intense peak period, especially in southern and central areas.”
The warm spring weather has promoted early grass growth and will lead to a notably early start to the grass pollen season in most areas
Other experts warned that strong winds, coupled with the recent long, dry spells had also encouraged bees to be more active, making it much worse for sufferers. And doctors are warning that sufferers’ agony is likely to be prolonged as exceptionally warm weather continues.
Since the beginning of March, Tesco pharmacies have recorded a huge surge in sales of hayfever sprays and medicines compared with the same period last year.
Demand is particularly strong in Kent and Essex, which have five towns each in a league of the UK’s top 20 areas where people are buying the most treatments.
Tesco spokeswoman Joy Wickham said: “This is the earliest start to the hayfever season we have seen for a long time and we have ordered extra supplies to cope. Normally we wouldn’t start seeing demand grow until around the end of May.”
Britain has had some of the driest spring conditions for around 40 years. Although extremely cold weather delayed the start of the birch pollen season, the sudden arrival of a warm, dry spell in early April caused that type of pollen count to suddenly soar.
A recent survey revealed that a quarter of sufferers say their symptoms have worsened over the past few years. About 28 per cent of the population are sufferers and it is as high as 38 per cent among teenagers.
It cannot be cured completely, but treatments include antihistamine tablets, nasal sprays and eye drops.
