THE first ‘high’ pollen forecast of the season is predicted for most of the next 5 days across the South West of England.

'The peak of the hay fever season has been delayed and the recent milder, wet weather has encouraged growth. Last month was the wettest March in England for over 40 years. So there’ll be plenty of pollen now the sun is coming out,' said airborne allergens expert and creator of HayMax, Max Wiseberg.

He continued: 'It’s important that we’re prepared for the start of the hay fever season and creating your own Hay Fever First Aid Kit is one of the best ways to do this.'

'There are many pharmaceutical and natural products around for hay fever sufferers. Pharmaceutical remedies are usually based on either antihistamines or steroid nasal sprays, whilst natural remedies are based on physical preventative measures, immune boosters or natural antihistamines.

'What’s useful is that many of these remedies can be complementary to each other. So if one helps, but doesn’t do the whole job, you may be able to try other remedies at the same time and get a better result. In other words, you can create your own, bespoke Hay Fever First Aid Kit that suits your specific needs.'

Several different groups of medicine have been developed for treating allergies. The common ones are:

- Antihistamine tablets and capsules can relieve most hay fever symptoms – sneezing, itchy, runny eyes, skin irritation, itchy nose and throat – but tend to be less effective for nasal congestion. Hay fever is our body’s reaction to the allergen and it produces too many histamines which trigger the unpleasant symptoms. Antihistamines do exactly what it says on the box; they anti the histamine. However, histamines also help keep us alert, attentive and awake. This is why antihistamines can cause drowsiness. There are different types of antihistamines so if one doesn’t work, try another.

- Cetirizine and Loratadine have been joined by Fexofenadine for second generation options.

- Chlorphenamine is first generation which is more likely to cause drowsiness. If drowsiness is experienced with antihistamines then you should not drive or operate machinery.

- Antihistamine nasal sprays – can quickly ease itching, sneezing and watering but generally only work for mild symptoms.

Steroid nasal sprays and drops – reduce inflammation in the nose; they work best for clearing nasal symptoms – itching, sneezing, watering and congestion – and sprays sometimes clear eye symptoms too.

- Eye drops – may reduce itchy, watering, swollen eyes.

Other, slightly less common forms of conventional medicine for hay fever include nasal washes