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The symptoms of hayfever have been compared to a permanent "head cold" and relate to the eyes, nose and chest. The eyes can start watering, become itchy, turn red, swell up, and experience a "gritty" feeling caused by a pebbly lining covering the lower eyelids. Sometimes dark circles, known as "allergic shiners", may appear under the eyes caused by the pressure placed on the small blood vessels by the blocked nasal passages. The nose can become runny, stuffy, or blocked, get itchy, start bleeding, and the sufferer may begin sneezing frequently. Obstructed nasal passages can cause breathing difficulties that interfere with sleeping patterns as either one or both nostrils become blocked.

Sufferers may feel tightness in the chest or begin wheezing. This can provoke an asthma attack if the individual has asthma. There may be a burning sensation in the palate (the roof of the mouth) and the throat may become itchy and feel like it needs to be cleared. Ears may develop earache or become itchy and a headache may occur because of the pressure inside the nose.

If someone experiences nasal blockage associated with headache, fluid persistently dripping down the back of the throat and bad breath, then it is more likely that the condition is chronic sinusitis rather than hayfever. Chronic sinusitis involves an inflammation of the sinus cavities but it can be the result of repeated episodes of hayfever.

Pollen-food allergy syndrome can occur when hayfever sufferers develop oral allergies to certain vegetables, fruits or nuts. For example, people who are allergic to the pollen of the silver birch tree have a tendency to develop oral allergies to apples, peaches, cherries, carrots, celery, hazelnuts, peanuts, and walnuts. Grass pollen allergy sufferers may develop oral allergies to tomatoes, melon, and watermelon. In these cases the allergic reaction is usually restricted to the mouth and throat.

Treating Hayfever

• Hayfever can only be controlled with treatment because medication will not get rid of the allergy itself. The symptoms of hayfever are best relieved by antihistamines, or by a combination of an antihistamine and decongestant. You should begin treatment before you develop the symptoms of hayfever described above. You can actually start taking an antihistamine a couple of weeks before the start of the "hayfever season", which will vary depending on the allergens that you are sensitive to. Take the antihistamine regularly for consistent relief. If symptoms are intermittent and are triggered by specific events such as mowing the lawn or visiting a home with a dog, then an antihistamine should be taken an hour or two before exposure in order to optimize effectiveness. Amongst the things that you can do to reduce your hayfever symptoms are:
  
  
• Reduce direct contact with the allergens that trigger the condition.
  
• Use nasal sprays. Corticosteroids like Beconase or Flixonase can treat allergic symptoms.
  
• Take antihistamines to alleviate symptoms such as sneezing, and an itchy and runny nose.
  
• Use decongestants to shrink swollen membranes in the nose to make breathing easier.
  
• Use eye drops for relief of eye irritation. Eye drops like Naphcon-A contain both an antihistamine and a decongestant and are applied directly to the eye.

Taking more than one type of antihistamine will not bring you faster or stronger relief from hayfever because they all do the same thing, that is, they block the production of histamine. If the antihistamine that you are currently using does not offer you relief, you should try another type or brand until you find one that works for you.

Although you may know the times of year that make your hayfever worse, especially when the pollen count is high, it is not always easy to avoid the plants that trigger it. Reducing your physical proximity to plants while they are pollinating can be helpful, as can keeping windows closed and staying indoors if possible but this is often not a practical solution. Air conditioning and air purifying devices may offer some relief and assist sleeping.

Perennial rhinitis is even more difficult to avoid. Constant cleaning, dusting and mould control measures are needed to relieve symptoms. Reducing your exposure to pets may also help because animal dander is a common allergen.

Sensitivity is the term used for instances when the body produces antibodies to combat otherwise harmless allergens like pollen. Desensitization, or immunotherapy, is a treatment that attempts to turn off the abnormal response of the immune system to the allergen by gradually exposing the body to diluted dosages of the substance you are allergic to, until a maintenance dose is achieved. This treatment tends to relate more to cases of pollen and stinging venom allergies which have the highest success rates. During immunotherapy, injections of the specific allergens are given over an initial period of about three months in order to build up sufficient protective antibodies to begin having an effect on the allergy symptoms. Then monthly maintenance injections are required monthly over the next three to five years. It is possible for patients undergoing immunotherapy to suffer a dangerously severe systemic reaction, or anaphylaxis, to the treatment, especially if the patient has asthma.