Met Office issues rare red warning for hayfever sufferers as pollen count will be ‘very high’

The NHS says symptoms of hayfever include: “Sneezing and coughing, a runny or blocked nose, itchy, red or watery eyes, itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears, loss of smell, pain around the sides of your head and your forehead, headache and feeling tired.”

Whilst there is no cure for hayfever, some ways to to alleviate the discomfort recommended by the NHS include – putting Vaseline around your nostrils, keep windows and doors shut, shower and change your clothes after you have been outside to wash pollen off.

Airborne allergens expert Max Wiseberg said: “Warm, dry and sunny weather are perfect conditions for trees to distribute their pollen. And as April is peak tree pollen season, the warm weather predicted for this week is set to trigger a huge pollen explosion across the London and South East region – not good news for the average hayfever sufferer.”

“Around 25 per cent of hayfever sufferers are allergic to tree pollen,” he added, “and for them the peak hayfever season is about to start, with a vengeance.