Pulling the plug on hayfever

Atchoo! Filters could mean end of sniffles
David Harding|Metro13 April 2012

For years they have sneezed and sniffed their way through summer but an end to hayfever misery is in sight for sufferers.

The answer does not lie in an expensive new drug or elaborate contraption but in a simple nose plug.

The device has a filter to sift out the pollen which causes the condition.
The filter is sticky and catches pollen before it reaches the nasal cavity but, unlike other filters, does not impede breathing by getting clogged.

In preliminary trials on 47 sufferers, half used the sticky filters for two days. The tests showed the plugs were more effective than drugs and nose sprays in beating off symptoms such as sneezing, watery eyes and an itching throat.

Tim O'Meara, of the Australian team which developed the treatment, said: 'We were surprised at how big the effect was.'

Plugs would be particularly useful for people who could not treat their illness with nasal steroids or antihistamines, he added.

He also believes the revolutionary filters could help other allergies, such as asthma, since they do not interfere with breathing.

Since 1902, there have been 90 patents filed for nose filters for hayfever victims but all worked on a 'tea strainer' principle, which leads to clogging that can stop the oxygen getting through.

An estimated three million Britons suffer with the condition and 300,000 experience severe symptoms. Every year, £50million is spent on treatments.

For now, however, their suffering will continue. The team at Woolcock Medical Research Institute in Sydney says it will be two years before the plugs go on sale.

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