Hay fever can be the bane of summer, don’t you think? As a fellow sufferer I totally feel your pain right now - but I have some awful news. Pollen levels are set to reach a 12-year high this week according to the Met Office. It’s believed that one in five people in the UK suffer from hay fever, and 95% react the worst by grass pollen.
For those of you who don’t know, grass pollen hits mid-May to July. Weed pollen strikes at the end of June to September.
Southern, eastern England and the Midlands are in “high alert” right now, but if you’re elsewhere, they’re slightly lower.
Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey revealed to The Independent: "As I understand it the reason we have such high pollen levels this year is because we have had perfect weather for pollen so far this year.
"It's been lovely and warm, followed by rain, and then dry days with breezes that lift the pollen off the grass, plants and trees.
"So far this year we haven't seen pollen counts exceeding those of some previous severe years, such as 2005 and 2006.
READ: Top tips for relieving hay fever symptoms
"It is unlikely that this will be a record-breaking year, although it is more severe than average and the worst in over a decade."
If you need help with your hay fever, read our handy tips for battling the sniffly nose, the scratchy throat and the sore eyes. The Met Office recommend staying away from alcohol (sorry!) because booze contains histamine which sets off allergy symptoms in the body. But, you COULD have a gin and tonic, which is said to help hay fever, so it's not all bad.
RELATED: Top 10 natural hayfever remedies
One HELLO! staffer, who once worked at Holland & Barrett, recommends one key product. Anna Johnstone said: “Whenever I suggested HayMax to customers, they often would come back to tell me that it had changed their life. All you do is dab it around your nostrils and it stops the grass pollen entering your nose. Plus, it won’t make you drowsy.”