Not an affliction to be sniffed at (sorry, couldn’t resist!), hay fever has plagued my summers since I was a child – that is, until I fled the pollen and moved to Dubai!

Living in the desert, those red-nosed, bleary-eyed, fuzzy-headed days seem a world away… Until I come bouncing home to England in the height of summer! This blog post is therefore as much for me as it for anyone else, to remind me of the measures I need to take to prevent European holidays from being overshadowed.

1. Wear sunglasses at all times – my symptoms are normally focussed around my nose and chest, rather than my eyes, but there is no doubt that wearing sunglasses does help with all of them.

2. Take stronger tablets – this may seem obvious, but don’t just stick with the same tablets year on year, try new medication, and speak to a doctor to get the best advice. Also try Piriton (which is renowned for making you drowsy) at nighttime when it doesn’t matter.

3. Use medicated tissues with lotion – as much to help ease sore dry noses, as to help relieve symptoms, and always make sure to have a mountain of pocket tissues in every bag and pocket!

4. Get an inhaler and nasal spray – tablets alone just aren’t enough, and personally I’ll do anything to prevent myself turning into a snotty, wheezing wreck at weddings, picnics and BBQ’s!

5. Apply vaseline around the nostrils – this is supposed to catch the pollen as you breathe in, before it can go far enough to do any damage. It can also be soothing on the by-now sensitive raw skin!

6. Eat local honey – I’d read in several places that eating honey from the local area can help the suffer become less sensitive to the pollen in that area. I have tried this, but in all honesty, I couldn’t tell you if it really works or not as I was trying a whole concoction of different methods at the same time!

7. Carry eye drops at all times – there are a variety of different medicated eye drops, designed specifically for hay fever sufferers, personally I find even regular eye drops helpful and try to apply them regularly whether my eyes have started it it h or not.

8. Try new technology – the most recent one I was reading about when I was in the UK last week was Medinose. From what I understand it is a device which emits red lights up the nose and acts as an anti-histamine.

9. Keep windows closed and dry laundry inside – this little gem came from my doctor during my student days. It seems obvious to read but it was not something I had thought about before. Avoid getting pollen inside the house by keeping windows (especially bedroom ones) closed and avoid putting wet washing on a clothes line to dry, particularly bed linen.

10. Stay indoors – this may seem like an extreme measure, and I’m sure it’s one that nobody wants to resort to on beautiful sunny days and evenings, however it is sometimes the only solution on days with particularly high pollen counts. If you’re friends or family of a hay fever sufferer, be warned that grumpiness becomes a particularly strong symptom if this is the chosen solution!

If all else fails, do what I did – pack your bags and move to the desert , I can highly recommend it!