What is hay fever and how can you treat the symptoms?

Spring is an exciting, vibrant and colourful time of year; the weather starts to feel warmer and flowers are in bloom, but that also means more pollen is in the air.

And with pollen comes hay fever, which can mean a runny nose and itchy eyes for many people.

BBC weather presenter, Abbie Dewhurst says: "Tree pollen has been moderate or high which is quite typical of this time of year, but the windy weather may well be making things worse by releasing more pollen particles into the atmosphere and scattering them around."

But what exactly is hay fever and what are the ways we can improve symptoms? Read on to find out.

Hay fever is an allergy and people who have it are allergic to pollen.

Pollen is a type of fine powder which is released by lots of different plants and trees.

Pollen also has proteins in it which can cause your nose, eyes and throat to become swollen or irritated if you are allergic to it.

If you have hay fever you might suffer from itchy eyes or a runny nose, because your body is trying to protect itself by getting rid of the pollen.

Hay fever is one of the most common allergies in the UK, affecting about 13 million people.

You can get it at any age, although it usually starts when you are young.

Not everyone has hay fever, but it is more common in people whose family members already have it or if you have asthma.

Hay fever is also more common in people with other allergies.

People can be affected by different types of pollen as well.

For example there is a lot of tree pollen in spring, grass pollen in summer and weed pollen in the autumn.

Although there is no cure for hay fever, people who have it can manage the symptoms in many different ways.

Top tips include:

Sometimes special medicine called antihistamines or steroids are used to help prevent a reaction and reduce the swelling.

Always talk to your doctor for advice before taking any medication. They can also discuss different ways of treating hay fever symptoms.

People with hay fever can also check how high the levels of pollen in the air are, by watching special weather reports.

As well as telling you about the weather, presenters can also give a pollen count, to warn people when the levels are high.