Thunder fever warning: Common symptoms to look out for – thunderstorms to hit UK this week

This Morning: Liz Earle gives hay fever remedy recommendations

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British hayfever sufferers are being warned to look after themselves over the next few days as a storm is brewing that will cause dramatically worse hayfever symptoms. Experts are dubbing the reaction ‘thunder fever’ and it’s going to be particularly bad this weekend. Express.co.uk chatted to airborne allergens expert and creator of HayMax allergen barrier balm, Max Wiseberg to find out the common thunder fever symptoms to watch out for this weekend.

With thunderstorms predicted for this weekend, including two yellow warnings, hayfever sufferers better get prepared for worse symptoms.

The recent heatwave has meant high and very high pollen counts until the last couple of days, so hayfever symptoms are already pretty severe.

Now, a storm is coming to make these horrible symptoms even worse.

We’re all looking forward to a little bit of rain and cooler temperatures after the extreme heatwave in the UK this week, but it won’t be as calming as you’d expect for hayfever sufferers.

Airborne allergens expert and creator of HayMax allergen barrier balm, Max Wiseberg explained: “Although many people associate rain and thunderstorms with a reduction in pollen count, this doesn’t always happen.

“Thunderstorms can actually have the opposite effect – to make your hay fever far worse. This reaction to the weather is known as ‘thunder fever’.”

Nobody is 100 percent sure how thunder fever works, but there are some strong theories which make sense when added together.

Mr Wiseberg said: “There has been quite a lot of research into thunder fever and according to a report in The European Respiratory review, humidity breaks pollen grains into smaller allergenic particles.

“So one pollen grain becomes two, which instantly raises the pollen count.

“But these new pollen grains also turn into a kind of ‘super pollen’ which appears to be more allergenic than normal pollen, causing more severe reactions in sufferers.”

Storms cause great movements in the air, both bringing pollen grains down which might have otherwise risen above head height out of harm’s way, and whipping up pollen grains and fungal spores near the ground.

Mr Wiseberg added: “To make matters worse, farmers will often work hard to get their fields harvested before a storm which further increases the level of allergens in the air.

“And don’t think that living in the city will spare you from this either; the thunderstorm can pick all this pollen up and carry it for miles before dumping it at head height in the city.”

When thunder fever strikes, you can treat the symptoms in the same way you would hayfever.

Mr Wiseberg recommends putting together your own hay fever first aid kit.

He said: “This consists of one or more natural products such as HayMax, one antihistamine such as Piriteze, one nasal spray such as Beconase and eye drops such as Optrex.

“The interesting thing about this is that many of these remedies can be complementary to each other.

“So if one helps, but doesn’t do the whole job, you may be able to try other remedies at the same time and get a better result.”

Don’t go too crazy with the remedies though! There are three simple rules to follow.

Mr Wiseberg warned: “Never take two antihistamines together and never take two steroid nasal sprays together.

“Always consult your pharmacist or doctor if you are already taking any other medication.”

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