By Emma Birchley, East Of England Correspondent
Hay fever sufferers could be set for the toughest spring and summer in decades as scientists predict a possible pollen surge in the coming weeks.
Trees, crops and even the grass are playing catch-up after a long and extremely cold winter.
And it is feared the delayed growing season could cause them to release pollen simultaneously, making hay fever symptoms much worse than usual.
Beverley Adams-Groom, a pollen forecaster at the University of Worcester's National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit, said: "We've got a late start to the birch pollen season which means people have had a little bit of relief initially.
"But what that means is the birch pollen season is going to run into the beginning of the grass pollen season. People who are allergic to both those types won't get any relief - they won't have a gap.
"And then if we get good weather in June we'll get some very high grass pollen levels - so it could be a long period of time for people to suffer."
Hay fever is caused by an allergic reaction to the fine powder released by plants as part of their reproductive cycle.
The Met Office has latest pollen reports One in five people in the UK suffers from it.
Ciaran Chapman, who is 14, knows exactly what it is like. He is allergic to at least six different types of pollen.
He said: "If I don't take my medication my eyes would also swell up pretty big and so would my skin because I would scratch the pollen in as would be itchy and it would swell up as well."
Ciaran has six different types of medication for when hay fever is at its worst, and he will be relying on it when it comes to his first GCSEs in a few weeks.
His father, Dr John Chapman, is a paediatric consultant who runs an allergy clinic at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk.
He expects to see many new patients, particularly teenagers, suffering from hay fever for the first time, once they have been referred by their GP.
Dr Chapman said: "It blocks their noses, which means they can't sleep properly, which means they can't think properly in the day, which is particularly bad at this time of year when children are doing exams and studying."
:: See Met Office pollen reports
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