Hayfever: Weekly visits to NHS website soar to 122,000 as pollen levels rise

The number of hay fever sufferers seeking advice from the NHS website has more than tripled with weekly visits to the hay fever page increasing by 252 percent in the past five weeks from 34,878 visits during the first week of May.

Sunday was the busiest day of the year so far with 27,834 visits to the website in 24 hours which is the equivalent of one page visit every three seconds.

There is currently no cure for hay fever but it can usually be managed at home or with medication available over the counter and the surge in website visits coincides with the data from last year.

Robert Cleary, NHS England’s Content Director for the NHS website, said: ‘Many of us experience hay fever symptoms at this time of year and the nhs.uk hay fever advice page provides the latest medical advice to manage your symptoms, as well as giving guidance on when to get support from NHS services.

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‘Millions of people make the NHS website their first port of call for advice and information on a wide range of conditions. The website is here for anyone 24 hours a day, making it easy for people to receive health advice and support from a trustworthy source around the clock.’

Hay fever most commonly hits between March and September when the weather is warmer and the pollen count is at its highest.

The common symptoms include sneezing, coughing, a runny or blocked nose, as well as red, itchy or watery eyes.

The page offers advice on different treatments available from pharmacists and recommends when people should seek help from their GP as well as a number of ways that people can ease their symptoms including staying indoors, keeping their windows shut and not cutting their grass.

The NHS website is the UK's biggest health website with approximately 2.6 million visits a day in 2022 from people seeking information and advice on a range of different health conditions.

For more information visit the NHS website by clicking the link.