This has been the worst month for hay fever for 12 years. Grasses had perfect growing conditions over late April and in May with warm sunshine and showers. That was followed in June by hot dry conditions when the grass flowers matured and shed clouds of pollen on light breezes and up people’s noses.

The strange thing is that hay fever was incredibly rare when it was first reported by John Bostoc, a London doctor, nearly 200 years ago. Yet in those days far more people lived and worked in the countryside, where grasses grew everywhere.

Today, hay fever has reached epidemic proportions and afflicts more than a fifth of the British population, even in towns where you might imagine grass pollen is less of a problem.



This statistic has been blamed on modern lifestyles, including factors such as obsessive hygiene and excessive use of antibiotics.

Above all, air pollution from traffic is a huge factor in the upsurge of hay fever. Exhaust fumes help weaken pollen grains, making them split open more easily and spew out the allergic substances that trigger the condition. And polluting gases, such as ozone and nitrogen dioxide, also make hay fever sufferers more sensitive to pollen allergens.