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Hay fever affects people in different ways.

You may:^{1 2}

• Sneeze a lot
• Have a runny nose or an itchy nose
• Have a hard time breathing through your nose or feel like it's stuffed up.

These are the main symptoms of hay fever. But if you have a bad bout of hay fever, you may also:^{1 3}

• Have a dry, tickly cough
• Lose your sense of smell and taste for a short time
• Have itchy, red eyes that water
• Have an itchy throat and feel like the insides of your ears are itchy, too
• Feel pressure and pain over your cheeks and forehead
• Feel run-down and weak
• Wheeze and feel short of breath.

You get these symptoms because your immune system has an abnormal reaction to pollen or mold. This reaction makes the lining of your nose and throat irritated and swollen.

Other parts of your body, such as your lungs and eyes, also can become irritated.

Some people with hay fever also get an itchy, swollen throat when they eat uncooked fruits that have pits, such as plums and peaches.

Researchers aren't sure why this is, but these fruits may have things in them that trigger your immune system in the same way that pollen does.³ This is called oral allergy syndrome.

Cooking fruits with pits before you eat them seems to stop this from happening.

Your hay fever symptoms may change during the day.

• Some symptoms start suddenly, right after you breathe in pollen or mold spores.⁴ Within a few minutes, your nose is likely to start itching and running. You'll probably sneeze a lot, too.
• Other symptoms start hours later. Your nose may feel stuffed up, and you may have a hard time breathing through it.¹ About half of all people who have hay fever get this.⁴

Your symptoms will probably change from day to day. This is because they're affected by things like how much pollen is in the air (the pollen count) on any given day.

You may wonder if you have hay fever or just a cold, but there are differences. To find out more, see What is hay fever?

You may also find it hard to tell if you have hay fever or some other allergy, such as an allergy to dust mites or pets. The symptoms are often similar. If you aren't sure, your doctor can run some tests. Remember that if you have hay fever:

• You usually have symptoms only at certain times of the year
• You usually get symptoms around the same time every year
• The symptoms normally last for a few weeks or months.

If your symptoms last longer than nine months every year, you're probably allergic to other things. When they last for most of the year, doctors say you have perennial (or persistent) allergic rhinitis.^{1 2}

Doctors describe hay fever symptoms as being mild, moderate or severe.⁵

• If your symptoms are mild, it means they may be a nuisance but they don't disturb your sleep, work or school, or other activities.
• If your symptoms are moderate or severe, it means they interfere with things like sleep, work, school, leisure activities or sports.