Medical Specialists® Pharmacy are proud to support National Allergy Awareness Week 2015, which will be running from Monday 20th April until Sunday 26th April. The annual event was created by the charity Allergy UK, who aim to draw attention to the plight of those affected by any of the different types of allergies (including food, respiratory, skin and children's allergies), boost knowledge of the various allergy treatments for sufferers, and generally raise awareness for the key times of the year when people are particularly liable to be affected. Fortunately, Medical Specialists® offer a wide range of treatment options for allergies such as hayfever, including the popular non-drowsy antihistamine Loratadine and Nasonex nasal spray– a nasal corticosteroid spray for the relief of congestion, sneezing, itching and a runny nose. In addition, Medical Specialists® provide Prevalin; a nasal spray that lines the inside of your nose and actually deactivates the pollen and Alomide allergy eye drops that can bring relief from red, itchy, watery and puffy eyes, if used regularly. Consistently each year, the pharmacy sees a massive surge in the requests for all these products during the spring and summer months, and this year has been no different! Presently, there are an estimated 16 million people in Britain suffering from hayfever – the most common kind of allergic condition - but increasing temperatures around the UK could mean an extra 4 million people may be struck down with the usual hayfever symptoms that can include watery and itchy eyes, a runny nose, sneezing and an itchy throat. Although the majority of the country will generally be delighted when the weather improves even more than it has currently, glorious sunshine brings misery for millions as pollen consumes the surrounding air. The pollen count season normally runs from March through to August, but it can begin as early as January and end as late as November. The pollen season is separated into three time periods of the year: . Tree pollen - late March to mid-May. . Grass pollen - mid-May to July. . Weed pollen - end of June to September. By the summertime of this year, the number of people with hayfever could reach a staggering 20 million – an increase of a third from last year – with warmer weather around Britain. However, by 2030, this figure could become as much as 31.8 million. Pollen expert and scientific director of Allergy UK, Dr Jean Emberlin, spoke to the MailOnline earlier in the month and said that 2015 could witness a 33% increase in the number of people afflicted with hayfever, “depending on weather conditions”. She told the MailOnline: “If we get prolonged periods of warm, dry weather with intervals of some wet weather between, which helps the grass to keep growing, we will experience a lot of high grass pollen counts. Grass is the main culprit pollen for hayfever in the UK. High and very high pollen counts can trigger hayfever symptoms in people who have not had them before.” Dr Emberlin added: “In addition, the good weather typically brings increases in air pollution, which can make symptoms worse, and again lead them to occur in people who have been symptom free before”, noting that there are now more plants emitting allergens, with more potent pollen circulating. The pollen expert also said that another contributing factor is the fact the average hayfever season has been longer in recent years, usually lasting from April to the end of August. Allergy UK’s website states: ‘During awareness weeks, Allergy UK encourages everyone to get involved to show their support! Fundraising events take place throughout the weeks. Through Allergy UK’s helpline 01322 619898 and website, people are able to receive individual advice and download fact sheets on all aspects of allergy’. In addition, the charity’s website provide further information on how to get involved with Allergy Awareness Week; ‘As well as our 'Living in Fear' press campaign, we will be sharing more information on our Facebook and Twitter account during the week, as well as launching an exciting new fundraising campaign which aims to raise awareness of how scary it can be to live with an allergy’.