FEATURES OF HAY FEVER

Nasal symptoms

The development of nasal symptoms over time is described in terms of early and late phases.

Early-phase:

€¢ Rhinorrhoea (nasal discharge): discharge is clear and watery, and frequent blowing and wiping can make the nose sore, sometimes leading to infections.

€¢ Sneezing: begins within 60 seconds of inhalation of allergen and can result in long bouts of repeated sneezing, which is disruptive and distressing.

€¢ Nasal pruritus (itching): may be continuous or intermittent, 

and is extremely unpleasant and irritating.

€¢ Some sufferers also experience an itching sensation in the roof of the mouth.

Late-phase:

€¢ Nasal congestion, usually developing after some days of exposure to allergen, when the blood vessels in the nose become dilated. Congestion may be uni- or bilateral, and may shift from one nostril to the other every few hours. Mouth-breathing may result, which can lead to a dry mouth and bad breath, disrupted sleep and anosmia (loss of sense of smell).

€¢ Nasal congestion may cause frontal or sinus headaches and give rise to secondary infections such as sinusitis.

€¢ The eustachian tubes may become blocked with mucus and infected, and otitis media may result.

€¢ In some cases a dark or bluish swelling, like a black eye, develops around the eyes, caused by impaired nasal venous outflow.

Eye symptoms (allergic conjunctivitis)

€¢ Clear, watery ophthalmic discharge.

€¢ Redness, caused by dilation of the conjunctival blood vessels.

€¢ Ophthalmic itching, sometimes so severe that the sufferer resorts to scratching the eyelids to relieve it.

€¢ Photophobia.

€¢ Skin folds or pleats develop parallel to the lower lid margin, extending from under the eye to the top of the cheekbone.