Do you dread spending the summer with itchy eyes, runny nose and generally feeling pretty awful? If so, are you one of the estimated 15 million people who suffer from hay fever in the throughout UK?
Hay fever usually begins in childhood or during your teenage years, but you can get it at any age. The condition is generally more common in boys than in girls but by adulthood men and women are equally affected.
Symptoms of hay fever are caused due to the sufferer having an allergic reaction to pollen. Pollen is a fine powder released by plants as part of their reproductive cycle. Pollen contains proteins that can cause the nose, eyes, throat and sinuses (small air-filled cavities behind your cheekbones and forehead) to become swollen, irritated and inflamed.
There are around 30 types of pollen that could cause your hay fever. The pollen that causes hay fever could come from sources including:
- grass – (released during the end of spring and beginning of summer) 90% of people in Britain with hay fever are allergic to grass pollen
- trees – (released during spring time) about 25% of people in Britain with hay fever are allergic to pollen from trees, including oak, ash, cedar and birch (people with an allergy to birch often also experience an allergic reaction to apples, peaches, plums and cherries as these types of fruit contain a similar protein to birch pollen)
- weeds – (released any time from early spring to late autumn) such as dock, mugwort and nettles
It’s possible to be allergic to more than one type of pollen!
Well known symptoms include: frequent sneezing, runny or blocked nose, itchy, red or watery eyes (also known as allergic conjunctivitis), an itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears. However less common symptoms can include: the loss of sense of smell, facial pain (caused by blocked sinuses), sweats and headaches. For many sufferers these symptoms can interfere with their sleep and ability to perform daily tasks at school or at work.
Traditional methods of dealing with the symptoms of hay fever include anti-histamines, Corticosteroid nasal sprays and tablets, nasal decongestants, eye drops and in very persistent cases Immunotherapy. However the Bowen Technique is a natural, drug-free, non-invasive complementary therapy that can also help treat the seasonal disorder.
Below is a link to an article from August 2000 when Sarah Lonsdale visited a Bowen Practitioner to see what could be done for her hay fever symptoms.
If you would like to learn more about how the Bowen Technique might be able to help free you of the symptoms of hay fever, why not contact me on 07709 452412 or email me?
I offer a free 30 minute consultation so what do you have to lose?
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