If Wordsworth had been wandering lonely as a cloud in the Lake District in March this year he wouldn’t have been greeted by a host of golden daffodils, but blasts of freezing air and driving sleet.

The warnings last autumn that suggested that this winter would be a particularly cold one (according to calculations about ocean currents) seem to have been accurate. The levels of cold and snow didn’t approach those of 1947 or 1963, but few parts of the country have escaped weeks of chilly wind, even if there hasn’t been much snow.

It is not only the daffodils’ flowers that remained folded against the wind; trees that would usually have blossomed a week or two ago are now only just beginning to come into flower.

Those who potter in public gardens have their reward. In a late spring such as this, many of the flowers and trees bloom together and make a dramatic spectacle.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere will be laden with pollen to a greater extent than usual. Even if the potterers don’t see the small grains, the nose, eyes and nasal mucosa of any who suffer from hay fever will certainly detect their presence.

The spring, although it is the zenith of displays in most people’s gardens, is not the nadir of the hay fever sufferer’s year. His or her month of real despair is usually June, when the grass pollens are at their peak. Even so, this year it is likely to be worse than usual. The importance of spring in the hay- fever victim’s calendar is that it marks the start of troubles that continue in varying degrees until the end of July.

It is also the annual opportunity for doctors to warn all hay fever sufferers who take antihistamines as their first line of attack of the importance of using the newer, non-sedating antihistamines.

It never fails to amaze me how many people with hay fever and allergic rhinitis continue to use the old antihistamines. Even though these can be bought over the counter without a prescription and therefore save patients’ and doctors’ time, they are not as successful in controlling the symptoms as the so-called second generation of antihistamines. And because of their ability to cause drowsiness, they are responsible for accidents when people drive and operate machinery. Only alcohol and cannabis are thought to be greater causes of falling asleep at the wheel or of drug-induced industrial accidents.

The other symptoms of hay fever and its treatment are better known — the red eyes, a runny, itchy and often congested nose, sneezing, irritating throat, huskiness and a general feeling of malaise. It produces insomnia not only for the patient but also for the patient’s partner, who may be kept awake by snuffling and snoring.

The first generation of antihistamines — unlike those of the second-generation non- sedating ones — are not as successful at reducing nasal congestion even if they ease the running nose. They therefore influence snoring, snuffling and insomnia less. It is never entirely certain if the effect of hay fever on a patient’s mood (usually irritability) and intellectual performance is a direct effect or, as is far more likely, a secondary one after the sleepless nights and the constant niggling discomfort of having the equivalent of a low-grade common cold that lasts until the end of July.

Had Wordsworth suffered from hay fever, its symptoms would have complicated the problems he already had from his permanently inflamed photophobic eyes, and there would have been no treatment. His eye troubles — which necessitated the installation of shaded lighting in his church pew — allegedly resulted from a chlamydial infection caught by being too friendly with French women at the time of the Napoleonic wars rather than from admiring a field of daffodils.

As first-aid treatment, doctors can recommend local nasal sprays such as Neoclarityn or Flixonase, possibly supplemented by Flixonase nasal drops.

One of the second-generation non-sedating antihistamine tablets also helps; commonly used are Zirtek, Neoclarityn or Xyzal. Anti-inflammatory eye drops such as Opticrom or Hay Crom are helpful, but most doctors try to avoid steroid drops.

If this year’s late spring uncovers a serious problem anyone suffering in this way should make a resolution to deal with it by considering the possibility of immuno therapy and desensitising injections this autumn.

Researchers are also working on a tablet — prepared against grass pollen rather than spring flower pollen — that is dissolved under the tongue and, it is hoped, will reduce the response to pollens.