The blossoms are flowering and there's less chill in the air, which can only mean one thing: spring, and all the pollen it brings is not far away. And in bad news for sufferers of asthma and hay fever, experts are warning the capital could be in for an above-average grass pollen season.
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00:00Hay fever sufferer Jackie Hatting is readying herself for her most troublesome season, spring.
00:09Whenever the grass comes into spreading its pollen stage, you know, it gets nice and beautiful
00:13and tall, I die.
00:15You get the itchy throat, the itchy ears, it drives me mad.
00:18Unfortunately for Jackie, the experts at the Canberra Pollen Monitoring Centre don't have
00:23good news.
00:24The long term weather prediction for this summer is a La Nina.
00:28We're not quite sure of the strength, but what effectively that means is that it might
00:33be a bad season in terms of the grass pollen.
00:37They warn the grass pollen season may be above average, not only in terms of severity, but
00:42also in terms of length, with more green out there than this time last year.
00:47Aside from monitoring the pollen levels, Jackie turns to medicine for some relief.
00:52I'll use a mask, I'll take antihistamines, but after a few weeks of taking antihistamines
00:59you do slow down a bit so you feel very sludgy.
01:03And that's about all I can do, stay inside and I do lots of face washes and showers.
01:10Medical professionals agree Jackie has the right idea.
01:13There are a number of things available over the counter through a pharmacy that can help
01:16with symptoms from nasal sprays to non-sedating oral tablets and antihistamine eye drops.
01:24And if hay fever is having a serious impact on day to day life, a visit to the GP is a
01:29must.
01:30It can really impact on people's sleep and people's cognition throughout the day, so
01:34taking that step back and putting in place a good plan, both to avoid the allergens and
01:39then to treat the symptoms can be really, really useful.
01:42So too is having tissues on hand.
01:46For more information visit www.FEMA.gov