Spring Health Conditions

This article has been medically approved by Pharmacist Sumaiya Patel - GPhC Reg No: 2215078

With the days getting warmer and the nights getting shorter, Spring is just around the corner! But with the changing seasons come new health conditions that you should keep in mind. In our article below, we’ll look at these conditions in more detail.

1. Allergies

As plants com back to life for a new year, people who suffer with a pollen allergy may experience symptoms.

Symptoms of a pollen allergy include nasal congestion, a runny nose, itchy nose, face, or eyes, postnasal drip, frequent throat clearing, and a cough.

The main treatments include antihistamines and decongestants, which help you to manage your symptoms.

To learn more, check out our article on Allergic Rhinitis.

2. Cold and Flu

Unfortunately, the end of winter doesn’t mean the end of cold and flu season.

While catching a cold is unpleasant, it’s symptoms will generally be milder than the flu. The symptoms of a cold include a runny or stuffy nose, a mild cough, sneezing, aches and pains, a sore throat, and headaches.

Flu can often make you feel too unwell to continue with your normal routine. Its symptoms include fever and/or chills, a cough, fatigue, aches and pains, headaches, sore throat, and feeling or being sick.

Sometimes it can be tricky to tell the difference between a cold and hay fever. To find out more about the similarities and differences between hay fever and the common cold, click here!

Similarly, it can be tricky to tell the difference between the common cold, flu, and COVID-19. For more information, click here.

3. Asthma

Pollen, changing air temperatures, fertilisers, insect repellents, dust, and mould are all asthma triggers that are common in spring.

There is currently no cure for asthma, but there are treatments available to help you to manage your symptoms.

The main treatments for asthma are reliever inhalers and preventer inhalers. Reliever inhalers are used when you quickly need to relieve the symptoms of asthma, like breathlessness, a tight chest, or coughing. Preventer inhalers should be used every day to prevent asthma symptoms from occurring.

4. Lyme Disease

The ticks that may carry Lyme Disease love the warmth of spring. They can be found all over the UK, but high-risk areas include grassy and wooded areas in southern England and the Scottish Highlands. Only a small number of ticks are infected with Lyme Disease, but it is still important to be vigilant.

Many people with the early symptoms of Lyme Disease with develop a circular, ‘bull’s-eye’ rash around the infected bite. The rash can appear up to 3 months after being bitten, although most rashes appear within 4 weeks. The rash will usually last for several weeks.

Not everyone with early Lyme Disease develops a rash. Some people will have flu-like symptoms such as a high temperature, feeling hot or shivery, headaches, muscle and joint pain, tiredness, and loss of energy.

If you have been bitten by a tick or visited an area in the past month where infected ticks are found and you have flu-like symptoms or a circular red rash, you should visit your GP.