Advice: The Asthma Society is launching an advice booklet today for asthma and allergy sufferers to mark World Asthma Day and the start of the hay fever season.
At a time when one in 10 Irish people are expected to experience the discomfort of allergies such as seasonal allergic rhinitis, otherwise known as hay fever, the booklet is an effort to help people manage the symptoms.
The booklet, entitled Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis, should prove a helpful guide, according to Dr Jean Holohan, chief executive of the Asthma Society of Ireland, who acknowledged that the lives of sufferers can be greatly disrupted. The asthma society is also expected to announce some 20 information clinics across the country in the coming weeks.
Dr Joe Keane, consultant respiratory physician with St James's Hospital, said the onset of summer and, in turn, the start of hay fever season can cause misery for Irish people with asthma and allergies. He estimated that up to 80 per cent of people with asthma also have allergic rhinitis.
"Likewise, people with allergic rhinitis are three times more likely to develop asthma. Essentially they are both diseases of the airway that are caused by inflammation," he said.
International guidelines from the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma panel (ARIA) in association with the World Health Organisation (WHO) emphasise that both asthma and allergic rhinitis are caused by inflammation in the airways and should be treated together.
Within the 13-page booklet, the differences between year-round allergic rhinitis and seasonal allergic rhinitis, its causes, symptoms, prevention methods and treatments are detailed.
While some people experience allergic rhinitis all year round, many only experience seasonal allergic rhinitis during the summer months, thus coinciding with third-level and post primary exam schedules.
The advice booklet advises students sitting exams to try to control their symptoms as early as possible so that sleep patterns are not disturbed. During the exam period, students should splash their eyes with water before entering the exam hall, inform the adjudicator if their seasonal allergic rhinitis is causing irritation and avoid sitting near an open window.
Experts also recommend sufferers avoid drying clothes outside and shower immediately after gardening so that spores and pollen are not carried indoors.
The Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis booklet is available from the Asthma Society of Ireland on www.asthmasociety.ie or 01 8788511. Clinics will be advertised locally in the coming months.