I grew up playing in the woods, sleeping with my dog and dead-heading flowers for my dad. This rampant early exposure should have turned me into a hay fever immunity machine, but here I am, all itchy eyes and streaming nose as summer hoves into view. Not that I can see it very well.
“You cannot cure hay fever,” is the rather dispiriting verdict of the NHS website, which recommends staying inside with your doors and windows shut. I sought a second opinion from Dr Unnati Desai, national lead for GP Services at Nuffield Health. “Trying to avoid any type of pollen from about February to September in the UK is near impossible,” she says. “Instead, find the right way to control your symptoms.”
