Pollen counts are highest at dawn and dusk, the expert said (Image: Getty)
If it feels like nothing is working for your hay fever despite doing everything right, you’re not alone. For people with more severe hay fever, symptoms can persist even when they’re regularly using antihistamines and nasal sprays as recommended. Around 20% of UK adults are affected by hay fever making it one of the most common allergies. However, most people are unaware that help exists beyond standard over-the-counter remedies.
Millions of sufferers are now being urged to look beyond these standard treatments, as experts highlight a lesser-known option that could significantly reduce symptoms over the long term. Professor Adam Fox OBE, a professor of paediatric allergy and a leading voice within the allergy community told the Daily Express that desensitisation therapy also known as immunotherapy can be ‘life-changing’ for those with severe symptoms.
The allergy expert recommended using saltwater nasal sprays (Image: Getty)
He is a Professor of Paediatric Allergy at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospitals and King’s College London. In June 2025, Professor Fox was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his contribution to paediatric allergy, and was named among Tatler’s top UK doctors for 2026 in November 2025.
Professor Fox told the Express: “The number one thing that people don’t know about is that if you’ve tried all the nasal sprays and the antihistamines, there is help above and beyond that.”
Immunotherapy works by gradually training the immune system to tolerate pollen. While it previously required regular injections, now treatments involve tablets being placed under the tongue containing small amounts of the allergen.
He explained: “These are treatments that actually are available through the NHS, although they can be hard to access through the NHS, but they are fully licensed treatments.
Timing, however, is crucial.
“It needs to start a few months before the season starts. It’s not a quick fix. It’s not something that if you’re suffering, you can then get relief from. It’s something where you need to be a bit organised and prepared, and start a few months in advance.”
But for those who have really bad hay fever, symptoms can remain a problem despite using nasal sprays and antihistamines as recommended by experts, and in these cases, this treatment can make an “enormous difference.”
Although these treatments are fully licensed and available on the NHS, access remains limited, Professor Fox said.
“In the UK, for every person who gets desensitised, hundreds do in countries like Germany.”
“Compared to other parts of the world, we are pathetically behind.”
The allergy expert also explained how to differentiate hay fever from a common cold. The key difference, he explained, is fever.
“You never get a temperature with an allergy but you’re likely to get a temperature with an infection.”
If you’re experiencing a fever, it’s unlikely to be hay fever whereas symptoms that mainly affect the nose and eyes are more typical of an allergy.
Another useful clue is how your body responds to antihistamines. They won’t relieve a cold, but they can help with allergic reactions. If you’re unsure, trying antihistamines may therefore offer some guidance and if your symptoms improve, it was likely an allergy. If there’s no change, an infection is the more probable cause.
Professor Fox said that hay fever can start at any age but if it starts in early childhood, that’s a “strong predictor” that it’s going to be “persistent and troublesome.”
While you’ll find lots of noise and varying lifestyle tips online, the professor has shared his expert and professional advice.
- Wash your hair before bed to avoid transferring pollen to your pillow
- Avoid drying clothes outside during high pollen days
- Use saltwater nasal sprays to clear allergens
- Over the counter eyedrops
- Apply a small amount of petroleum jelly around the nose to trap pollen
- Monitor pollen forecasts using apps
Timing your day can also help. “Pollen counts are highest at dawn and dusk,” he explained.
These tips, however, are only going to help deal with milder symptoms.
Professor Fox said: “All of those things are going to help, but they’re only going to deal with milder symptoms. If you’ve got more severe symptoms, then the right medications to get are long-acting, non-sleepy antihistamines, and that’s distinct from the short-acting, sedating antihistamines, which often get recommended, but don’t help very much.”
That means choosing something like Cetirizine rather than sedating options such as chlorphenamine (Piriton, Allerief, Pollenase), he said.
“And if that’s not doing the job, then you can use a steroid nasal spray, which you can get over-the-counter for adults, but not for kids. They’re really helpful.
“If the combination of a regular nasal spray and the antihistamines aren’t doing the job, then you should be speaking to your doctor and asking to see if you can get referred for desensitisation.”
Beyond sneezing and itchy eyes, hay fever can have wider effects on daily life. Research shows teenagers with hay fever are 50% more likely to drop a grade between mock exams and summer exams, which fall during peak pollen season.
Rates of hay fever have risen over the past few decades and there is good evidence that climate change is leading to higher pollen peaks, longer pollen seasons, and a wider geographical spread of pollen so you’re more likely to be affected, the expert said.
The warning comes ahead of Allergy Awareness Week starting on April 20 alongside the parliamentary launch of the National Allergy Strategy. The UK’s first National Allergy Strategy will be launched in Westminster by the National Allergy Strategy Group (NASG), an alliance of allergy professional organisations and patient charities which include Allergy UK, the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, Anaphylaxis UK, and the British Society for Allergy and Terminology.
Professor Fox said: “There is coordinated work going on from national allergy charities to get better accessibility for people who have severe hay fever to get access to these life changing desensitisation treatments.”
Compared with other parts of the world, the UK is significantly behind in making these treatments widely available.
The group is calling for a national, coordinated approach to allergy care, warning that repeated reports from professional bodies and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Allergy show how services “remain fragmented, under-resourced, and unable to keep pace with rising need.”
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
