From April until August I can\u2019t open the windows. I make my boyfriend shower before he gets in bed, smear Vaseline around my nostrils, eat local honey, and spend too much money on Allevia (fexofenadine), lubricating eye drops, super strength nasal sprays and prescription inhalers. Still, I can barely breathe, because the pollen<\/a> has come \u2013 and if it were down to natural selection, I wouldn\u2019t make it out of the ever-lengthening hay fever<\/a> season alive. <\/p>\n This might all sound incredibly dramatic. But, as anyone who suffers from extreme allergies<\/a> will know, it really is that debilitating<\/a>. The morning after a high pollen count day, I often struggle to get out of bed as I battle through a so-called \u201chay fever hangover\u201d, which depletes my energy, increases brain fog and, consequently, exacerbates my depression. <\/p>\n When social invitations come in, I second guess them. A picnic? In this state? Better to just stay home. <\/p>\n Hay fever has been getting steadily worse in the UK in recent years; 2025 was nothing short of a snot-filled apocalypse with a \u201cpollen bomb\u201d hitting London as early as April<\/a>. This year, we\u2019ve been granted even less mercy, with sneezing and scratchy throats starting thanks to \u201cvery high\u201d tree pollen levels<\/a> in (what should be) the winter month of February. <\/p>\n As such, allergists have warned<\/a> that we\u2019re in for a \u201cbumper pollen season\u201d ahead of us, recommending hay fever sufferers \u201cstart getting those antihistamine tablets from the pharmacy\u201d stat. But I\u2019m afraid (both in the apologetic and fearful sense of the term), that is simply not going to cut it. I need stronger drugs, a hazmat suit, or a banned third option. <\/p>\n Hay fever jabs were available on the NHS<\/a> until 2018, when the health service discontinued them due to safety concerns and a lack of evidence supporting their long-term effectiveness. <\/p>\n Potential side effects of this Kenalog (triamcinolone acetonide) injection can include abdominal pain, loss of bone density, depression, blindness and even death. Yet still, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) found that 45 per cent of pharmacies<\/a> surveyed had received queries from patients about the jab to relieve allergy symptoms last spring. <\/p>\n \u201cThe NHS evaluated everything and decided that it wasn\u2019t suitable,\u201d says Dr Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of the Independent Pharmacies Association. \u201cIt can weaken your immune system and that opens you up to infections which can have a long term impact on people,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s not licensed in the UK as a treatment for hay fever anymore. So, if clinics are offering it to people as an allergy therapy \u2013 they shouldn\u2019t be.\u201d <\/p>\n With a quick Google, you can find private health clinics (and even beauty salons) offering the steroid injection for between \u00a375 and \u00a390 \u2013 and, despite the troubling health risks, there are sufferers desperate enough to chance the precarious cure. \u201cMy life has been changed already,\u201d my friend Nancy tells me two days after her annual Kenalog jab. \u201cWithin 48 hours there\u2019s already a noticeable difference,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n One of the many ways recipients of the Kenalog jab dismiss their concerns about the injection\u2019s side effects is by pointing out that the steroid is safely used to treat other medical conditions, such as arthritis. \u201cBut remember, in that instance it will go into a joint. So, it\u2019s going to stay in that joint,\u201d points out allergist professor Adam Fox. \u201cWhereas, with hay fever, you\u2019re injecting it into your bum, which gets a wider circulation. The worry is it could have a potential impact on bone health, which increases the risk of fractures when you\u2019re older.\u201d <\/p>\n He concedes: \u201cIt would be disingenuous to suggest that it doesn\u2019t work. There are a lot of people whose lives were absolutely blighted by horrendous hay fever and this was the only thing that did the job\u2026but there are people that are going to be at particular risk. <\/p>\n \u201cThe worry is about bone health, so if you\u2019re overweight, have a history of osteoporosis, or are a smoker, all of those things with an enormous whack of steroids is a bad combination,\u201d Fox warns. <\/p>\n So, are our only options to suffer or take supreme risk? Well, actually, no. Despite me going to GP appointments every year, asking for help, and receiving none, Dr Fox tells me there is another alternative here: allergen immunotherapy (AIT) aka pollen desensitisation. The problem is, barely anybody knows about it \u2013 including those with medical degrees. <\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, awareness amongst doctors in the UK is not good,\u201d says Fox. \u201cOne of the main issues is that there\u2019s very little taught about allergy on the medical school curriculum, so awareness is really poor. The likelihood that your doctor will even know that there\u2019s something that goes above and beyond nasal sprays and antihistamines is low. They don\u2019t even realise there\u2019s something they could refer you for.\u201d <\/p>\n Immunotherapy works by giving people a regular dose of the pollen allergen \u2013 either in an injection or pill \u2013 in order to reset their immune response over the course of three years. Desensitisation is highly effective, with NHS clinical trials<\/a> showing the average improvement as 30 per cent in year one, 50 per cent in year two and 70 per cent in year three; But you have to start early. \u201cIf you wanted to be desensitised to tree pollen, where the season typically starts in around February, you should be starting treatment around October time,\u201d explains Fox. \u201cWhereas, if it\u2019s for grass pollen, you need to start by the end of January.\u201d <\/p>\n The treatment isn\u2019t a total cure (you may still have to take antihistamines) but it does provide enough relief to live a normal life. \u201cA good result would be that you\u2019d change into somebody who, if they take their regular medication, can feel ok,\u201d says Fox. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re going to throw away your antihistamines forever. Some people report feeling completely better, most people just noticed a marked improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Symptoms](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/iStock-1149090307.jpg\")
Symptoms started in as early as February this year due to very high tree pollen levels (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/iStock-1136520676.jpg\")
In demand: 45 per cent of pharmacies have had queries about hay fever jabs (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n![\"Sufferers](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/iStock-2238755504.jpg\")
Sufferers are mainly directed towards over the counter tablets and nasal sprays (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n
![\"\u2018Really](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-02-at-11-58-10.png\")
\u2018Really lagging\u2019: Allergist Adam Fox is campaigning for better allergy services in the UK (ITV)<\/p>\n