Hay Fever and Asthma Sufferers Urged To Take Precautions Ahead Of Jubilee Weekend

With Brits out and about for the Jubilee celebrations - hosting street parties, enjoying barbecues and spending time in the sunny weather - many will be exposed to high pollen.

Southern areas will be mostly affected, but those in the South West, London, the South East, the East of England, the East Midlands, the West Midlands, Wales and the North West will all be faced with medium to high levels of pollen over the course of the weekend.

Earlier this month, when the pollen count was particularly high, Asthma and Lung UK urged sufferers to keep their preventer and reliever inhalers on-hand to prevent asthma attacks or flare-ups.

Pollen can see those with asthma or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) suffer from a tight chest, and shortness of breath and a wheeze or a cough.

Clinical lead for Asthma and Lung UK, Dr Andy Whittamore warned that a high pollen count can be "deadly" to those who suffer with lung conditions.

Urging people to stay vigilant, he suggested: "Using your preventer inhalers as prescribed is important as the medicine reduces sensitivity and swelling in the airways.

"We also advise people to carry their reliever inhalers every day, especially when they are out and about enjoying the sunshine in case pollen does cause a flare-up of their symptoms.

"The third thing people can do is to use a steroid nasal spray every day, together with non-drowsy antihistamine tablets to help stop the allergic reaction."

While there is no known cure or preventative measure for hay fever, there are a number of tips recommended by the NHS that can help to ease symptoms.

These include, staying indoors and keeping windows shut when possible if pollen counts are high, putting Vaseline around your nostrils, wearing wraparound sunglasses, buying a pollen filter for the air vents in your car, and vacuuming and dusting regularly.