Almost half of hayfever sufferers (49 per cent) have had to cope with sneezing behind the wheel and nearly a third (30 per cent) admit to experiencing watery eyes whilst driving, according to a survey by Opticrom Hayfever Eye Drops.

Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of the 2,000 respondents surveyed believe that driving with hayfever symptoms could be dangerous, as one in 101 (10 per cent) reveal they have felt drowsy and 12 per cent1 have suffered from blurred vision while on the road, which could lead to a loss of concentration.

Leading Pollen Expert, Dr Jean Emberlin, advises: “The first rule of driving is to keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times. However, this isn’t always possible for hayfever sufferers, as watering eyes can cause blurred vision whilst driving.

"If you’re travelling at 70mph on the motorway and you sneeze, momentarily closing your eyes, you’re travelling blind for about 31 metres.”

Almost a third (31 per cent) of sufferers said their hayfever has got worse in recent years, with the most common symptoms being sneezing (72 per cent), itchy eyes or a runny nose (64 per cent) .

In the UK, we will see around 18 million people dealing with hayfever havoc and hotspots are likely to be concentrated around large urban areas in the South and the Midlands.

Dr Emberlin noted: "There are a lot of risk factors in getting hayfever. The main factors I think are probably genetic, in that allergies tend to run in families.

"We can add to that gender, boys are slightly more prone to getting hayfever than girls, at least until adolescence. And then we can add month of birth. If you’re born either just before or during the hayfever season for April through to July, you’re more likely to have hayfever by the time you’re four or five than somebody who’s born in the autumn or the winter.

"You can also add in environmental factors, if the parents smoke, that can affect the immune system2, the child may be more prone to hayfever and other environmental things like air pollution generally.”

Hayfever is an allergic reaction to pollen and spores, occurring when the body’s immune system mistakes these harmless airborne particles and launches a defence against them.

This reaction causes the rapid onset of irritating and uncomfortable symptoms, including itchy, watering eyes, runny nose, sneezing and headaches – all associated with hayfever. With June being the worst month for over nearly a quarter of sufferers (23 per cent), it is important to ensure people are equipped with the right information to help them cope with their hayfever symptoms.

Dr Emberlin added: "A top tip for someone who’s got hayfever is to visit a pharmacist or GP to get the right sort of medication and treatment for them, to control the symptoms.

"There’s a range of medications which people can take for hayfever. They include antihistamines, corticosteroids, nasal decongestants, eye drops and these are very effective.

"They can also help to reduce our exposure to pollen in several ways; one of course is to try to avoid going places where the pollen counts are high, and also looking at the pollen count to see when the seasons are going to start, which days are going to have high pollen counts, and importantly when the season ends.”

For further information about hayfever eyes including symptoms, frequently asked questions and tips to help cope, visit the Opticrom website at opticrom.co.uk