Dr Hilary Jones has shared advice on how to combat hay fever amid a "perfect storm" of conditions surrounding a high pollen count and other weather-related factors.
It comes as weekly visitors to NHS England's hay fever advice pages have tripled in the past five weeks, with one visit occurring every three seconds on Sunday (June 11).
The allergy usually strikes from late March to September, when it is warm, windy and pollen counts high.
People with asthma also usually suffer worse symptoms than usual in this period of time.
In response, Dr Hilary gave his advice on preventative measures to help out people who are struggling at the moment.
'Perfect storm' of conditions for hay fever
On today's Good Morning Britain episode (Tuesday, June 13) Dr Hilary described the current weather conditions as a "perfect storm" to cause hay fever symptoms.
He said: "We've had a wet spring, we've had a very hot, dry fortnight now, [we've] got a bit of wind and pollen counts.
"The pollen is rising into the atmosphere where it is very moist, we've got thunderstorms around breaking up those pollen grains and all these allergenic proteins are falling down and people are inhaling them."
He also mentioned thunderstorm asthma being more prevalent in these conditions.
People seeking hayfever advice on the NHS England website has tripled in the past five weeks with one visit recorded every three seconds on Sunday.@DrHilaryJones explains what we can do to help relieve symptoms pic.twitter.com/pMEwTCef6y
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 13, 2023
Dr Hilary called on people to take preventative steps such as wearing wraparound sunglasses, showering when you get home and changing your clothes and vacuuming around your house with a HEPA filter.
However, he stressed the most important thing was taking anti-histamines, using nasal decongestant and making use of your reliever and preventer inhalers.
What is thunderstorm asthma?
On a UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) blog it says: "Since first formally recorded in 1983, there have been instances where thunderstorm activity has been linked to increases in people reporting symptoms of asthma and seeking medical attention for issues with their breathing. These episodes are termed ‘thunderstorm asthma’."
It is not fully understood why this happens, but the air flow within a thunderstorm system is thought to be important.
Thunderstorms form when warm wetter air on the earth’s surface is beneath much cooler air higher in the atmosphere.
This warm air then rises which causes the cool air to flow down towards the ground.
Following that, as the cold air falls to the ground, increasing pressure generates a strong cross-wind on the surface picking up pollen grains which are then carried on air currents.
It is then hypothesised that the pollen and/or spores are caught in the up-draft and get pulled up into the clouds and storm system, which are then broken up and come back down again in rain.
Good Morning Britain airs from 6 am on weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX
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