Here you’ll find answers to some common questions people have about their family's allergy symptoms, and information on the products available as treatments for them.

Question
What is an 'airborne allergy'?

Answer
One of the most common forms of allergy is provoked by tiny particles suspended, unseen, in the air that we breathe. These could be from:

• Pollen
• Mould Spores
• House Dust Mites
• Pets
• Air Pollution

This condition, whose proper name is allergic rhinitis, is also referred to as 'airborne allergy'.


Question
Both my children suffer from itchy, watery eyes and a runny nose when they are at home for any length of time. Is this an allergic reaction to something?

Answer
It’s quite possible that your children have developed an allergy to something in the house, like pets, house dust mites or mould. Step one to finding a solution is to try and discover what it is that’s causing the reaction. Pets, particularly cats, dogs and rabbits, can trigger a runny nose, itchy and watery eyes, and sneezing. If you do have any pets, get them out of the house for a day and have a really good clean. Get rid of the stray hair and you can observe whether or not the symptoms come back when the pets are let back in. If it’s not the pets, then the trigger could be house dust mites. House dust mites are common in every household; the best way to keep them under control is to vacuum regularly. Talk to your pharmacist for further advice.

Question
We love to go cycling in the country on summer days, but my whole family is sensitive to pollen and suffers from hayfever. What's the best way to prevent hayfever from ruining our days out?

Answer
There is no guaranteed way of having a hayfever free day out, but here are a few tips which should help:

• check the pollen count first thing in the morning and avoid spending all day outside on days when there is a high pollen count. You can check the pollen count from this website, see the Pollen Forecast button above
  
• if you can avoid 'green areas' during the peak hayfever season (in the spring and summer months) you should suffer less e.g. go to the beach rather than the park if possible
  
• shower and change after spending the day outside to ensure that you don't carry the pollen around with you on your clothes and in your hair all evening
  
• be prepared with antihistamine products which can help relieve the symptoms of hayfever. There are antihistamine products available for you and your children (even those as young as one year old). Please see the product pages of this site for some antihistamine treatments