Seasonal intermittent rhinitis troubles a patient for less than four weeks a year and is triggered by the pollen from some particular type of tree or grass.

Perennial allergic rhinitis occurs on at least four days a week for four weeks a year. Attacks are likely to be triggered by dust mites, animal skin or a wide variety of pollens or moulds.

Traffic fumes or tobacco smoke may aggravate the symptoms and sufferers should steer clear of aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs.

The symptoms of allergic rhinitis include runny nose, nasal congestion (it is possible to get one of these problems without the other), sneezing, itchy or watery eyes, itchy throat and ears, insomnia, poor concentration, irritability and a feeling of being generally unwell, as if the patient had a mild attack of flu.

In severe cases the treatment should start long before the hay fever season is reached. The patient should have a series of desensitising injections at a special hospital unit.

Once the season has started, oral antihistamines are the first line of treatment. The latest antihistamines do not cross over into the brain and so leave the patients’ intellect and wakefulness unchanged. They also ease a congested and a runny nose. Antihistamines are also available as nasal sprays and eye drops.

The next line of attack is cortico steroids. These should be used as sprays or inhalers rather than taken by mouth or given by injection. The nasal sprays include such brands as Flixonase or Beconase. They can either be used regularly to keep symptoms at bay or in larger doses as treatment.

Chromones anti-allergy sprays are also available for treating the eyes.

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