Hay fever can be a real handicap to your performance. Symptoms include sneezing, a runny or stuffed up nose, itchy, watery, or streaming eyes and a general congested feeling in the nose and throat.
All of this can lead to tiredness, fatigue and exhaustion. Hay fever can also affect how you sleep. These symptoms can zap your energy levels leaving, making your running slow and sluggish.
Avoiding the allergen is always key with any allergy. Less allergen, less reaction.
Here are 7 tips to help you beat hay fever
1) Avoid peak pollen times. Pollen is especially bad early morning and evening. Plan your run around this.
2) Shower and put on a clean set of training gear before starting your run. This will reduce the pollen that has collected in your hair and on your clothing.
3) Apply an allergen-barrier balm, such as HayMax, around your nostrils and the bones of your eyes before you run. HayMax has been proven to trap over one third of pollen before it enters the body. Two former GB Olympic runners have used the product successfully.
4) Wear wraparound sunglasses to prevent pollen getting into your eyes and causing a reaction.
5) Wear a cap when running to prevent pollen getting trapped in your hair.
6) Avoid wooded areas if you suffer from hay fever in early and mid-spring. Avoid grassy areas in late spring and summer.
7) Shower again post-run to remove pollen collected in your hair. A clean set of clothes will further reduce your exposure.
HayMax organic drug-free allergen barrier balms retail at £6.99 per pot, and are available from Holland & Barrett; selected Morrisons, Waitrose and Boots; independent chemists, pharmacists and health stores; on 01525 406600 and from haymax.biz
