Sunday marks the official start of British summer time as the clocks go forward 1 hour and everyone starts to dream of barbeques, trips to the beach and warm days relaxing outdoors.  To celebrate the imminent summer season we’ve compiled a list of our top 3 summer essentials that no home should be without so when the sun does shine you’re ready to get the most out of the weather.  However as living in the UK means the only thing you can rely on with the British summer is its unreliability, just because the summer officially starts on Sunday it still might be a bit premature to dust off the flip-flops and “fashionable” Hawaiian shorts just yet.

Summer Essential Number 3 – Hay Fever or Allergy Relief

While we don’t want to be the bringers of bad news, for a lot of Britain’s the impeding summer season marks the start of a long and often unforgiving battle with allergies. Whether its tree pollen, grass pollen, flowers, or something else, the height of the spring/ summer season can be a frustrating time for those with allergies as they can slow you down and leave you feeling run down.  Indeed while everyone else seems to be carefree and enjoying the sun, you can often be found holding yourself back as the sight of freshly cut grass or high pollen count can make the simplest of summer activities a real nightmare.  Luckily though there are lots of different allergy relief medicines and cures that can help you take the edge off your allergy or even stop it affecting you completely.

If your one of the 20% of the UK population, including 10 million people in England alone, that suffer from hay fever then there is plenty of help around to help you control your allergy and minimise the effect it has on your life.  There are lots of different particles that can trigger your hay fever as while most people are allergic to grass pollen, everything from tree pollen, weeds and even fungi can set your eyes watering and send you into what can seem a never ending sneezing attack.  Although understanding what type of pollen causes your hay fever can give you an edge in treating your allergy, it’s almost impossible to avoid your trigger completely especially if you like to spend time outdoors in the summer.  However being careful and prepared for upcoming “high risk” days can help you avoid the worst of your hay fever allergy throughout the summer so you can spend more time in the sun and less time sneezing.

There are a wide range of hay fever reliefs and treatments on the market that can help you stay on top of your allergy and finding the right combination for you is the best place to start.  Some people can keep their symptoms at bay just using once a day hay fever tablets, some just need a nasal spray or eye drops, while for the unlucky ones a combination of all 3 is the only way to keep yourself feeling normal during the summer.  Our top choices are Benadryl Hay Fever Tablets and Beconase Allergy Nasal Spray but you can see our full allergy relief range here.

Beating hay fever isn’t just about the conventional over the counter treatments though as there are a whole host of tips and tricks that can keep you feeling sane in the high if the pollen season.  A cooling gel eye mask is a great way to relieve the stress and incredible frustration of itchy eyes while washing your wrists with cold water after a spell in the sun is also a good way to cool yourself down and remove hazardous pollen from your hands before you touch your face and find the itching too much to bear.

If you’ve got any other tips or tricks to beat hay fever please leave us a comment below as there are plenty of people in the Semichem office who sneeze and wheeze their way through the summer due to hay fever.

Check back soon to read our number 2 summer essential to make sure you can feel and look fresh and healthy this summer

Claire xx