Specialist hay fever help for people who live and work in Newcastle
Most people in Newcastle manage mild hay fever with a few tablets from the chemist. The people who contact Hay Fever Treatment are usually in a different position. They have used antihistamines for years, tried a nasal spray or two, and still spend June with streaming eyes, a blocked nose and broken sleep. For them, another box from the supermarket is unlikely to make much difference.
The service starts with a consultation that looks at the whole picture: when your symptoms begin, which ones bother you most, how you have been using your current treatments and whether asthma is part of the problem. A qualified clinician then recommends what to do next. That might mean changing how and when you use medicines you already have, a prescription treatment review, allergy testing or, for severe grass or tree pollen allergy, an assessment for immunotherapy.
Why does the city feel so bad in early summer?
Newcastle has a surprising amount of open grassland and mature woodland for a city of its size, and much of it sits close to where people live, study and work.
The Town Moor and the open parks
The Town Moor stretches north from the city centre, with cattle still grazing on parts of it under the rights of the Freemen. Together with Exhibition Park, Nuns Moor and Leazes Park, it gives the city a large area of long grass. When that grass flowers in June and early July, a warm breeze can carry pollen straight into Jesmond, Fenham, Spital Tongues and the city centre. Anyone who has walked across the moor during the Hoppings fair on a dry day will know the feeling.
Trees in the denes and the suburbs
Jesmond Dene, Heaton Park and the leafy streets of Gosforth and High West Jesmond are full of mature trees. Birch, alder and hazel release pollen earlier in the year, which is why some people in the city start sneezing in March and assume they have a lingering cold. If your symptoms begin in spring, not summer, tree pollen may be the cause, and the UK pollen calendar shows how the seasons usually line up.
Exam season and the grass pollen peak
Newcastle University and Northumbria University bring tens of thousands of students to the city, and their exams fall in May and June, which is the worst possible time for anyone allergic to grass. Studying with itchy eyes and a foggy head is hard enough. Sitting an exam after a poor night's sleep is harder still, and some antihistamines can add to the drowsiness.
A consultation in the spring gives time to put a plan in place before revision starts. Preventive nasal treatments need a couple of weeks to build up, and non-drowsy options can be chosen with concentration in mind. Students who are new to the area and not yet sure which pollen affects them can also ask about skin prick or blood testing.