Hay fever is the most common of all allergic diseases, affecting almost 12 million people* in the UK. That’s a quarter of the population – one of the highest rates for hay fever in the world and a figure that’s constantly on the rise. Otherwise known as seasonal allergic rhinitis, hay fever is a reaction to airborne substances, such as pollen, that get into the upper respiratory passages – the nose, sinus, throat – and the eyes. The symptoms usually appear in childhood and lessen by the age of 30 or 40. Perennial allergic rhinitis is a similar allergy to hay fever that occurs all year round and is caused by things like house dust mites and pets. What causes hay fever? Often an inherited condition, the most common causes of hay fever are: tree pollen (spring hay fever) grass pollen (summer hay fever) mugwort and hybrids such as chrysanthemums (autumn hay fever) house dust mites and mould fungus – particularly associated with perennial allergic rhinitis

These microscopic substances get into your nose and cause your body to produce antibodies and release histamine. Histamine irritates the upper respiratory passages, making them swell and producing those typical hay fever symptoms. What are the symptoms? Itchy and watery eyes Frequent sneezing and a bunged up or runny nose Itching on the roof of the mouth Wheezing or a burning sensation in the throat What are the risks? In the long term, hay fever sufferers are more vulnerable to other allergic respiratory diseases, such as asthma. You may also experience sleeping difficulties because of blocked nasal passages and snoring, leading to chronic fatigue. If you suffer from hay fever, it’s important to do whatever you can to avoid substances that provoke your symptoms. If you don’t, you may increase the risk of developing other, more serious allergic diseases. You’ll never be able to get rid of the allergy itself, but you can control the symptoms.

And you’ll find that hay fever is usually more of a nuisance than harm to health, with many people’s symptoms improving over time.europace air purifier 230 What can I do to reduce the symptoms?plasmacluster air purifier fu-a28e Try using eye drops, nasal sprays and antihistamine tablets and syrups to treat symptomshoneywell air purifier hpa 105 Keep your windows closed – even at night. This is especially important in the early morning and evening when pollen is released If you’re still suffering indoors, a good air filter – like the LloydsPharmacy Ionising Air Purifier – should help Put a smear of Vaseline inside each of your nostrils to ease soreness and stop pollen in its tracks Try using the LloydsPharmacy Hay fever Reliever along with your usual allergy medicines

Wear wraparound sunglasses to keep allergens out of your eyes Avoid drying clothes and bedding on your washing line when the pollen count’s high Keep car windows closed when you’re driving Don’t let pets get close to your face as they can carry pollen in their fur Click here for more tips! Shop our Allergy medicines and remedies here! Meaco AirVax Air Purifiier - white The Meaco AirVax Air Purifier - Black Filtrete Ultra Clean Large Replacement Filters We're sorry this item is temporarily out of stock.We receive regular deliveries and most items are back in stock within two weeks.Unfortunately we don't have a specific date for when this item will be available again, so please keep checking back on the site. Filtrete Ultra Quiet Compact 3M Replacement Filtrete Filters We're sorry this item is temporarily out of stock. We receive regular deliveries and most items are back in stock within two weeks. Heaven Fresh HF-200 (XJ-2000) Ionic Air Purifier and Ionizer

Heaven Fresh HF-100 Air Ioniser NaturoPure Multiple Technologies Intelligent HF 380 Air Purifier Heaven Fresh HF-210UV Ionic Air Purifier Heaven Fresh HF-60 Car Air Purifier Heaven Fresh HF300C NaturoPure Multi Tech Air PurifierOur experts have concerns about a favourite hayfever tablet and the evidence supporting some alternative remedies.As the hayfever season approaches, we asked academic and practising pharmacists and a professor of pharmacognosy to look at how well hayfever treatments work.They recommend anti-histamine tablets which have newer active ingredients, such as loratidine (in Clarityn) and cetirizine (in products including Zirtek). These have fewer symptoms than our readers' favourite tablet Piriton, which contains the older active ingredient chlorphenamine and can have a sedative effect. members can read about other remedies in the full article Hayfever Forecast in the April 2010 edition of Which?Our experts also recommended shopping by active ingredient and looking on the shelves for the cheapest prices as we found that - when asking for the cheapest 'generic' equivalents to well-known brands at Boots and Lloyds Pharmacy - we were sold the shop's own brand despite there being cheaper alternatives on the shelves.

also found big savings in swapping to 'generics' and recommends shopping around - prices for the same products varied considerably between shops.After looking at manufacturers' evidence to support some alternative remedies, such as the Lloyds Pharmacy Allergy Ionising Air Purifier and Nelsons Pollenna tablets, our experts said that more research was needed before they could recommend them. Read the latest reviews and expert advice in our Home & Garden sectionFor the latest home, travel and garden news follow @WhichUK on TwitterGet instant access to our member-only reviews by taking a £1 trial to Which?Ends 12/04Win Vegetable Cookbooks Ends 10/04 2 X Moon Dough Bunnies playsets They arenigel71 @Nigel711 marchez50 @Boo1003 kiki_725 @kiki_725 Please send  your details to my email address you have a week to claim, then a new winner gets chosen (email under About Me) How to get the natural look in 10 minutes 2) Desert-Island makeup – if you could only have 1 item?

How to cover under-eye bags How to cover up age/sun spots or pregnancy discolouration? some simple tips for party makeup? What are the key Anti-ageing makeup tricks? What is a great gift to help any mum feel beautiful on Mothers day? RRPs for the full range Yummy Mummy Pressure Comes From School Gates, Not Celebs 50% of mums feel pressure to look good from other mums versus only 10% from celebrities 1/3 of mums spend less than 5 minutes in the morning doing their makeup compared to 1/5 of non-mums 40% of mums felt better about themselves before children 1 in 10 mums have avoided social situations because they are unhappy with their appearance Only 2% of women selected their mums as their beauty role models A new survey commissioned by Sheer Cover® mineral makeup polling women across the UK shows that the majority of mums are feeling pretty depressed about their appearance. So much so that over 40% of mums agree to feeling more confident and attractive before they had children, and 1 in 10 admit to avoiding social situations due to a lack of confidence in their appearance.

It’s no surprise however when you consider that motherhood results in a 50% decrease in pamper time according to the mums surveyed. More surprising is the fact that 56% agreed that friends and other mums made them feel self-conscious while only 10% of respondents felt pressure from celebrity mums despite the likes of red-carpet beauties such Gisele Bundchen and Danni Minogue flaunting flawless figures and fresh-faces weeks after giving birth. Even more reason for mums to make that little extra added effort each morning before approaching the school gates! When questioned about other sources of inspiration however, one startling find was that only 2% of women name their own mothers as their top beauty role model. One mum who bucks the trend and hopes to inspire her own daughter in years to come is red-carpet veteran, beauty enthusiast and Sheer Cover® brand ambassador Emma Forbes who comments: “My mum was always an amazing beauty role model who enjoyed dressing up and passing along all her trade secrets.

I’ve always enjoyed makeup and it makes me feel more confident; I hope my children benefit from seeing me take care of myself.” Armand Beasley, top makeup artist for Sheer Cover® comments, "For busy mums on the go, it’s important that they look and feel the best they possibly can. It doesn't have to take an hour and you don't have to look like a supermodel! You only need 10mins to get up and glow!" With a full range of sheer, natural, mineral makeup ideal for day or evening looks, Sheer Cover® products boast healthy formulas that can be worn all day long without feeling cakey. Worn by Hollywood beauties, Sheer Cover® gives a flawless finish in photos, and flatters skin of all ages. Easy to apply and long-lasting, Sheer Cover® makes nailing the perfect School-Run look a breeze. If you or your mum is in need of a makeover – log on to www.sheercover.co.uk/mums to enter the ultimate mothers’ day competition. For Armand Beasley’s Top Ten Quick Makeup Tips for Mums see here