Summer? You give me fever

For many of us, spring and summer bring the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. For hay fever sufferers, however, this time of year is no such bed of roses.

As anyone who suffers from the condition will tell you, hay fever — an allergic reaction to pollen characterised by a runny nose, sneezing and watery eyes — can make life miserable. And with both children and adults being susceptible, schools are often full of sniffles in the summer.

"Hay fever can start in early spring for pupils allergic to tree pollen," explains Professor Jean Emberlin, director of the National Pollen Research Unit at University College Worcester. "But 90 per cent of hay fever sufferers are allergic to grass pollen and suffer in the last week of May and through June and July. Some people have a weed allergy and suffer in August and September.

"Symptoms include very frequent sneezing, a runny, itchy nose, itchy eyes, sometimes an itchy palate and a blocked nose that can lead to headache or earache. Hay fever can start developing when children are eight, nine or 10 years old. There's an increasing prevalence at ages 11 to 13 and the condition then peaks in the late teens and 20s."

Hay fever causes such discomfort that it can be a real distraction, making pupils feel tired and unable to concentrate. In more severe cases, it can have a serious impact on their school work too.

"I've had children with hay fever in class who are really disabled by it," says Karen Aherne, a teacher at St Paul's Church of England Primary School in Hammersmith, London. "Last summer, I had one child in particular who couldn't concentrate. He had itchy eyes, itchy ears and an itchy throat. I felt so sorry for him."

With pollen counts tending to peak around the time that national tests are held, children's concentration can take a dive just when they need it most.

"It's well documented that pupils with hay fever don't perform so well during tests in the pollen season," Professor Emberlin points out.

So what can you do to help pupils suffering from the condition? The best thing, according to the experts, is to help minimise their exposure to pollen in the first place. Keeping an eye on the pollen count — collated by the National Pollen Research Unit and distributed to national media from spring onwards — is a useful first step towards this.

"I listen out for the pollen count, for myself and the children," says hay fever sufferer Amanda Gilliam, a primary school teacher in south-east London. "If pollen counts are high, I may keep a child inside at playtime. But I'd let them pick a friend to stay in with them so they don't feel left out."

"It helps if outdoor activities can be timetabled so that pupils aren't outside when pollen counts are highest — that is, in the early part of the morning and towards the end of the afternoon," advises Professor Emberlin. "And when pollen counts are particularly high, it might be a good idea for hay fever sufferers to avoid physical activity. Because children breathe in more air when exercising, they'll also breathe in more pollen."

When indoors, hay fever sufferers are commonly advised to keep windows and doors shut, as opening them creates a breeze and helps pollen to remain airborne for longer. This can be impractical in schools, especially as pollen counts peak on days when it's sunny and warm, exactly when children want the windows wide open. But there are ways around the problem, as Miss Gilliam explains.

"If I know a child has hay fever, I'll sit them at the back of the class and open a window at the front," she says. "And if a child suffers in an exam period, we can close the hall windows [and use a fan or air conditioning], or we can sit hay fever sufferers in a different classroom."

Nowadays, there is over-the-counter and prescription medication available to help alleviate the symptoms of hay fever in children (although it is generally recommended that children under 12 see their GP in the first instance). However, not all parents medicate their children — and even children who do take medication may experience 'breakthrough' symptoms when the pollen count is very high.

If this happens, there are things you can do to help make them more comfortable. "If a pupil's symptoms are bad, I give them a cool compress — cold water on cotton wool — to put on their eyes," says Fiona Norris, a teacher at Hampton Wick Infant and Nursery School in Richmond. "As a hay fever sufferer myself, I'm aware of how uncomfortable it is and how it completely changes your mood, so I try to help them focus on something else."

"I make sure I've got lots of tissues in the classroom," says Miss Gilliam. "And, because hay fever can make asthma worse, we double-check that asthma sufferers have their inhalers with them too."

There are things parents can do to help pupils with hay fever at home too, as Professor Emberlin explains: "When pupils go home, most of them have a place to study. It's a good idea for parents to cover this area with a sheet, and then fold back the sheet before the child starts work. This will keep their workplace pollen-free. They could do the same with the child's bed too, so that he or she is not disturbed by pollen at night. Pollen can stick to hair and clothes, so when a child comes in from outside it's also a good idea to change their clothes and wash their hair." 

Adults with hay fever returning home after a sniffly day at school should find these steps help bring them relief too.

Tips to help ease your sneezes

Do you suffer from hay fever yourself? Here are a few tips that might help reduce your symptoms:

• protect your eyes by wearing wraparound sunglasses
• smear Vaseline just inside the nostrils every two to three hours to help trap pollen grains — then blow your nose gently to expel the grains before they burst
• wash your hair and change your clothes when you come in at the end of the day
• dust can aggravate hay fever, so clean your home with a damp cloth and vacuum regularly
• keep the air inside your home as dust— and pollen-free as possible by using an ioniser, an air conditioner or a filter

Further information

Check out the pollen count at http://pollenuk.worc.ac.uk

This content was published in May 2004 and may not reflect current policy