Sneezing Season

After having the worst night’s sleep of my life thanks to the biggest Sneezathon I’ve ever endured, I’ve decided to have a little bit of a rant about the most annoying seasonal condition. It comes around every year - always around this time - and is the absolute bane of my life. Yep, you guessed it. It’s Hay Fever.

Hands up who has it? *Rach raises hand really high*

Hay Fever. Runny nose, itchy eyes, itchy throat, congestion, constant sneezing... the never-ending cold that lasts all summer for most people, and all year for those unlucky few like me.

The moment it starts getting nice outside, my Hay Fever flares up because I’m allergic to grass, plant and weed pollen (no not that kind of weed) with each region having different pollen counts. It’s frustrating, because I’m at a stage with my Lupus now where being outside in the sun without my sun cream doesn’t affect me. But what stops me going outside now is the fact I don’t want to be sneezing every second of the time I’m outside.

Today for example, or even last night. I went for an awesome walk with some friends in the forest and my nose starting running quite close to when we were home - I always mind my Hay Fever symptoms are delayed, which is actually incredibly annoying - and then the itchy eyes started when I was sat down for lunch. Having not washed my hands, my eyes got really irritated the point where I had to get a pad of kitchen roll and place it over my eyes. Fast forward to the evening, sneezing starts up again just before bed time, and meant that I was coughing, sneezing and spluttering into the wee hours of the night, making me truly exhausted now.

Over the years I’ve worked out what really sets me off. It started in France when we were walking round a growing wheat field (we call it tickly wheat). I was streaming with it, itchy eyes, itchy throat, runny nose, and felt beyond awful. Anyway, we rounded the corner to the next field - away from the wheat - and the sneezing stopped. So, that’s one down. Fast forward a couple more years and I noticed whenever Dad had daffodils on the table, I’d start sneezing more. Unfortunately around now is when all the daffodils are out, so I’ve just learned to avoid them as best I can. A few years after that I was looking after a bunch of lilies for my sister’s birthday, which had been sent to her by a friend, and I had the worst night’s sleep. I was wheezing, could barely breathe due to my dry throat and blocked nose, and I ended up being awake all night because of how uncomfortable I felt. I woke up early the next morning and went straight into Josie’s room to give her the flowers, but unfortunately then had to endure them in the flat for nearly 2 weeks. So that’s what I’m most allergic to. Daffodils, tickly wheat and lilies.

Now, over the years I’ve learned how to combat the sneezing and the itchy throat as well.

First: take a tablet every day, or even twice a day. Last summer, I took an Asda piriteze tablet - one in the morning and one at night - and the symptoms were certainly lessened. It may not work when the pollen count is really high - when you can LITERALLY see all the pollen flying around - but it at least helps.

Second: as soon as you get in from outside, wash your hands, change your clothes or even have a shower. If you’ve been sitting on the grass, even if you haven’t touched it with your hands, the pollen will be all over your clothes. The first thing I do when I get in, if I can, is change my clothes. I think it’s a mental thing as well as a physical thing too. It’s a kind of signal to your brain that you’re less likely to sneeze if you change when you get in or wash your hands.

Third: stay inside as much as possible on high pollen count days. I know it sucks when the weather is so great, especially today, but unfortunately beautiful sunny skies and high pollen counts usually come hand in hand. Now no one is ever saying you have to remain housebound forever - THE LITERAL WORST - but I pick my battles when it comes to Hay Fever. Luckily for me, I’m content to sit inside and watch a movie, but just remember point 1 if you are going to be outside all day. It may not cure it, but it will certainly help with symptoms.

Now there are loads of other things you can do - vacuuming, having hypo-allergenic filters, keep windows and doors shut, etc - but even if the sneezing is uncontrollable, don’t shut yourself off from the world. I’ve found that my sneezing stabilises after like half an hour, as my body adapts to being around something I’m allergic to. The sneezing and the runny nose is the worst part for me, because I’m that individual who always forgets the tissues and ends up annoying everybody with all my sniffing. And I know all Hay Fever sufferers can empathise here. Genuinely, sometimes I bring 4 packs of tissues with me and I get through them all because my nose runs that much. Just as soon as you’ve blown out the entire contents of your nose, more is ready to drip unattractively from your nose.

My last tip to Hay Fever sufferers is literally just to hang in there. Thankfully for most of us, it isn’t a permanent condition all year and tends to be only seasonal when a particular flower/weed you’re allergic to is flowering, so it’s not bad all the time. I find mine is the worst between end of March and beginning of June, because I’m allergic to grass, plant and weed pollen. It means that whenever people are mowing their lawns, that beautiful smell of freshly cut grass sets my nose off. But once they’re all done flowering, I’m okay, allowing myself at least a few months of nice weather before the cold sets in!

So, to sum up. Take tablets. They really work. Hang in there, the sneezing will stop eventually. Bring tissues. Tissues are your greatest weapon.

I would say happy sneezing. But sneezing makes no one happy. Especially not me. So instead I will say good luck... and I’ll see you on the other side!