London Drugs

Focus On Health

Screening Out The Sun

Hay Fever

Controlling Hay Fever
Inside and Outside of Your Home

As soon as the warm weather arrives, so do the pollens that cause hay fever. For the millions of children and adults who suffer from hay fever, spring and summer can be a miserable time of the year. But it doesn’t have to be this way...

What is Hay Fever?
Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, is caused by the pollen released into the air by plants during their flowering season. When these pollens are inhaled by people who are sensitive to them, they cause specialized cells within the body to release histamine. This substance in turn causes the unpleasant symptoms of hay fever - itchy, watery eyes, blocked sinuses and sneezing. These reactions are the body's exaggerated way of flushing away the invading pollen.

Who Gets Hay Fever?
Close to 15 percent of Canadians suffer from hay fever. The condition can affect anyone from infancy to old age, but it most often starts before the age of 20.

Some people are allergic to one type of pollen, while others are allergic to several. Since different types of pollen are released into the air as various plants flower, hay fever can occur at any time during the spring, summer and early fall. Tree pollen is often the cause of early spring hay fever, while grass pollen is released into the air in early summer. Ragweed is the cause of most late summer and early fall cases of hay fever in midwestern Canada.

Controlling Hay Fever Outdoors
Since pollens are airborne outdoors, it is impossible to avoid coming into contact with them when outside.

Avoiding outdoor activities is one way to control exposure but this is unacceptable for most adults and unfair for young hay fever sufferers who want to have fun outdoors with their friends.

While avoiding outdoor activities altogether is difficult, avoiding the outdoors when the pollen counts are highest (pollen counts usually appear in the newspapers), and on windy days when much pollen is airborne, is an acceptable compromise for many hay fever sufferers. Always keep your car windows closed as much as possible during heavy pollen periods.

Hay fever sufferers can also find relief by taking one of the many excellent allergy medications available from the pharmacy department at London Drugs, such as new Reactine* Allergy and Sinus tablets. (Please see following page for warnings on product usage.) Your pharmacist will be happy to answer any questions you may have about this and other allergy medications.

Keeping Your Home Pollen Free
Pollens (and other allergens) easily enter your house when you open doors and windows. Even when you are careful to keep doors and windows closed, pollens find their way into your home attached to you, your children and pets. An air purifier can help keep your home free of pollens and other allergens. Air purifiers remove pollen, harmful bacteria, smoke, dust and odours from the air. Many doctors now recommend air purifiers for allergy and asthma sufferers.

Choosing an Air Purifier
When choosing an air purifier for your home, you will want to make sure the model will perform the best possible job. The size of the rooms in which it will be used and the performance level of the air purifier are key factors in making your selection.

Bionaire®, Holmes® and Family Care® air purifiers, available from London Drugs, use the CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) system to help you choose the correct model. The CADR is an industry wide rating system that relates directly to the size of the room/s where the purifier is to be used. The CADR number and corresponding room size will be found on the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers seal on the side of the box.