For most, that will mean more trips to the beach, the park or the beer garden to take in the lovely green grass and blue skies.
But for 49% of the UK population, that means a blocked up congested nose, headaches, watery eyes and an itchy and scratchy throat all caused by the dreaded Hay fever.
Hay fever means that people allergic to the likes of pollen, dust mites and mould are often left coughing, sneezing and trying their best to stop itching their eyes over the summer months, myself included.
From Spring, I begin my routine of buying local honey, having Vaseline ready in the cupboard, always keeping wrap-around sunglasses in my handbag, and the list goes on.
I take daily hay fever tablets on days the pollen count is high and I’ll be spending time outdoors, but I’m getting sick of dealing with the dreads of hay fever. So I thought I’d try and change that.
I decided to scour the web to find if there are any methods or tricks that can help soothe or maybe even cure hay fever without being a task, here’s what I found.
Is there a cure for hay fever? I tried to find out with these 5 methods
When you search for a cure for hay fever, you will very quickly find that there is no cure.
But that doesn’t mean it needs to take over your life or make you dread summer and high pollen count days.
After a lot of testing and searching, I finally found five methods and tricks that seem to magically help me feel normal on days that are typically awful in the warmer months.
Stay hydrated and keep drinking that water
Starting with by far the easiest and most common trick, drinking water, and plenty of it.
Dozens of medical advice sites said that one of the best soothers for hay fever was staying hydrated.
When you are hydrated your body not only feels and works better, it helps make more allergy-blocking antibodies, according to a 2013 study, allowing your body to naturally fight against the allergic reaction of pollen.
I saw advice to drink up to eight cups of water a day, making it around two litres, which sounds like a lot.
But once I started swapping my second coffee of the day for water, I realised that there would be no struggle at all.
By day three of drinking more water, I felt miles better than I normally would on high pollen count days and even better, it didn’t cost me anything.
Avoid alcohol
Linking back to the importance of hydration, while we all might enjoy a nice cold alcoholic beverage in the warmer months, it does also make us dehydrated, which unfortunately makes hay fever symptoms even worse.
You can still have alcohol-free options like 0% beer, wine and gin, but in general, I found that avoiding alcohol altogether helped me feel better.
Spice up your food
This might not be for everyone, but if you love spice, then this trick to ease hay fever is your dream.
Upping your spicy food intake will help you quickly relieve any blocked nose helping you breathe easier and better.
Chilli and ginger have both been found to help with stuffiness caused by hay fever while garlic can also do the trick.
More garlic means that you are getting more anti-inflammatory benefits, helping you survive the hay fever season.
As someone who enjoys a bit of spice with their food, I was more than happy to add a bit more chilli powder and garlic to my dishes and I can happily say, that the spice seemed to do the job and helped brighten up how I felt.
Chamomile tea
Drinking chamomile tea was something millions swear by over the pollen season. Chamomile’s calming qualities not only help with anxiety but also have anti-inflammatory properties.
The tea is filled with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory, helping reduce the symptoms of hay fever while enjoying a nice drink.
Trying this myself, I picked up some Puka Chamomile, vanilla and manuka honey tea and it not only was very tasty but felt like I was being lifted up and all sense of blocked-up pollen was vanishing.
Whether it actually did that or not, I can’t confirm, but it made me feel like it was so I’m counting that as a win.
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Eat more carrots
Next time you head to the store, make sure to pick up some carrots and eat them, or if you’re not a fan of carrots, try sweet potatoes.
Both sweet potatoes and carrots contain carotenoids that naturally reduce inflammation in the airways while improving the immune system.
Taking this on, I incorporated some more carrots and sweet potatoes into my meals, swapping regular chips for sweet potatoes and including carrot sticks into my lunch.
I like carrots and sweet potatoes so I didn’t see it as much of a change to my diet, plus it did seem to help me breathe easier despite the pollen count, making it another win.
While I may not have been able to fully cure hay fever, these small changes to my everyday lifestyle seemed to have a big impact.
From more water to no alcohol and some extra spice, I stopped feeling clogged up and being left with an itchy nose or throat instead, feeling clearer and happier.
