h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The correct term for hay fever is 'seasonal allergic rhinitis', because it only happens at certain times of the year. Some people suffer in the spring and early summer, when the pollen count is high. Others suffer later in the year due to grass seeds, hence 'hay fever'. And then there are those of us (me included!) who seem to be allergic to a variety of things and can get the symptoms at any time of year. This is known as 'perennial allergic rhinitis', and it's a real pain. My main symptom is dry, itchy eyes. Rubbing them only makes matters worse, but sometimes it gets so bad I could scream.

And me

I have difficulty taking pills so I suffer far worse than most other people, arggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!

On the article it says lie inside with a cold flannel on your face. This can be incredibly hard when you have to go to school during the time it hits you.. I get my hayfever around late May (that leaves me a couple of weeks now) and this is when we have to go outside more because of the "nice weather". And Sports Days *have* to be held in the summer, don't they.

I never suffered hay fever when I was at school (still hated sports and sports days, though). Mine started in my mid-twenties when the company I was working for refurbished the building. The new 'air conditioning' they installed was cr@p - it just made the air drier, which is not what you want when you are handling static-sensitive electronic components. It also caused my hay fever, but I can't prove it.

I agree hayfever is the biggest pain in the arse(metaphorically speaking)I had it so bad that nose bleeds were a symtom
-i guess i blew my nose a little too much.The last five yrs (excluding this one) ive had injections from the NHS which certainly helped me through my exams.I brought some tablets for the first time the other day;although i havent had the pleasure to try out their 15min remedy time quite yet.
.But i believe as long as one doesnt stay in totally sterile buildings and polluted atmospheres all allergys should decrease in severity and quantity.So that could be never then!

I find air conditioning actually helps hayfever. The offices I've worked in that have it have all been much better. My typical pattern at the moment is I wake up in the mornings, streaming and uncomfortable, I reach for an antihystaminee, and it's usually calmed down by the time I leave for work.

But I walk to work, so by the time I get in I'm even worse! But after a couple of hours the symptoms have gone almost entirely.

I also find that of my two cars, the one with air conditioning is great for long journeys - I tend not to suffer at all in that. The other one is absolutely attrocious for it, but that's mostly because it's a convertible, so I guess I should expect trouble if I'm blasting pollen-filled air into my face at a constant 60mph stream!

Oh and there's also seasonal allergic conjunctivitis - that's the symptom where your eyes stream as well as your nose. I get that too.

I think my hay fever is easing up. I haven't been too bad this year, but then I haven't been getting out much. My main symptoms are very itchy eyes, which sometimes make me want to scream, and a badly bunged up nose. I only use anti-histamines occasionally, and sometimes find that the symptoms clear up on their own after a couple of hours. But yes, they are worst first thing in the morning, although early evening to dusk can also be a bad time.

Maybe you're growing out of it. I also started to suffer from hay fever in my mid-twenties, and had it quite bad for years. Then it began to get better, and now (20+ years on) I have hardly any symptoms.

Something that really annoyed me was when the TV weather announcer would say "The pollen count is high today." As if anyone with hay fever needs to be told that!