We’ve been working with GPs, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals from the across area to provide self-help guides so that you and your family and friends can stay safe and healthy during the summer months.

How to stay safe in a heatwave

Hot weather can make for a great summer but when temperatures are high for long periods this can pose a serious threat to people’s health. It’s important to know how to stay safe during a heatwave.

Find out more here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/heatwave-how-to-cope-in-hot-weather/

Hay fever

Hay fever affects around one in five people in the UK, and is most common between late March and September, especially when it's warm, humid and windy. This is when the pollen count is at its highest.

There are a number of things you can do to ease your symptoms:

• Put vaseline around your nostrils and wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting into your nose and eyes
• Shower and change your clothes after you’ve been outside to wash pollen off
• Stay indoors whenever possible and keep windows and doors shut as much as possible
• Vacuum regularly and dust with a damp cloth

Treatments available to buy over the counter include: 

• Antihistamines – treat itching, sneezing and watery eyes, they’re available in tablets, nasal sprays and eye drops.
• Corticosteriod nasal sprays and drops – can help reduce the inflammation inside your nose.
• Nasal decongestants – this can relieve a blocked nose by reducing the swelling of the blood vessels in your nose making breathing easier.
• Eye drops – treat hay fever symptoms that affect your eyes, such as redness, itchiness and watering.

Always read the information leaflet provided with any medicines before you take or apply them.

When should I see a GP?

• If your symptoms are not relieved by over-the-counter treatments in combination with measures to reduce your exposure to pollen.
• If you are experiencing wheezing, breathlessness or tightness in your chest.
• If you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Find out more about hayfever symptoms here

Watch this video from one of our senior pharmacists on how to control hayfever symptoms here.