The Met Office is forecasting five days of high pollen levels for Bristol this week.
The service has a five-day pollen forecast for every region in the country and, looking at the South West, pollen levels will be high for the next few days. The forecasting service is predicting that pollen levels will be classed as 'high' in Bristol and the wider region from today (Wednesday, April 20) until Sunday, April 24, with tree pollen being the main issue at the moment.
The Met Office said: "Tree pollen currently includes ash, oak, plane and birch. Spores: Pleospora." The pollen count monitoring network combines Met Office weather data with expertise from organisations such as the National Pollen and Aerobiological Unit to produce pollen forecasts for five days ahead across the whole of the UK.
Read more: Met Office predicts city to have higher temperatures than Spain this week
However, according to the A.Vogel pollen forecast, pollen levels in the city will be moderate today and tomorrow (April 21), when they will increase to high until Sunday. Pollen will mainly come from birch trees, oaks and plane trees, according to A.Vogel.
It is going to stay dry in Bristol over the next few days according to the Met Office, with temperatures staying between 7C and 18C until Sunday. Hay fever is usually worse between late March and September, especially when it's warm, humid and windy, explains the NHS, as this is when the pollen count is at its highest.
Symptoms of hay fever include:
- sneezing and coughing
- a runny or blocked nose
- itchy, red or watery eyes
- itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears
- loss of smell
- pain around your temples and forehead
- headache
- earache
- feeling tired
Hay fever will last for weeks or months, unlike a cold, which usually goes away after one to two weeks.
The NHS offers the following advice for hay fever sufferers, saying: "There's currently no cure for hay fever and you cannot prevent it. But you can do things to ease your symptoms when the pollen count is high."
DO:
put Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen
wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting into your eyes
shower and change your clothes after you have been outside to wash pollen off
stay indoors whenever possible
keep windows and doors shut as much as possible
vacuum regularly and dust with a damp cloth
buy a pollen filter for the air vents in your car and a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter
DON'T
do not cut grass or walk on grass
do not spend too much time outside
do not keep fresh flowers in the house
do not smoke or be around smoke – it makes your symptoms worse
do not dry clothes outside – they can catch pollen
do not let pets into the house if possible – they can carry pollen indoors
