Sneezing, runny and itchy eyes, coughing, a swollen throat, streaming nose and a general feeling of unwell – those familiar with this horrible allergy will know all too well what these symptoms indicate.

Hay fever affects an estimated 20% of people in the UK and hits those who are susceptible in the late spring and summer months – just when you want to be getting some fresh air.

Some hay fever sufferers can take medication to calm irritable symptoms and your pharmacist will best advise you as to what course of action to take.

Another preventative method could be to bolt the windows and doors and sit and watch Michael Fish present the pollen count.

Unfortunately some hay-fever sufferers have to do this and with no fresh air coming in it is sure to be hot and stuffy.

A more comfortable solution to preventing hay fever could be to install a screen on your windows and doors to prevent pollen from entering your home. Not only will this allow cool air to flow through, bringing you relief, but will also allow more sunlight in – a warm welcome from the dreary old winter we’ve just had.

What’s more a screen which has a mesh small enough to trap pollen can give you peace of mind. Pollens bloom at different times of year and affects people differently, but how do you know when the one which affects you is going to strike?

The truth is you don’t have to!

Meshes can successfully trap all kinds of pollen without you having to worry about your April birch pollen allergy!

Typically grasses release pollen during May to August and sometimes hay fever can be triggered in late summer and autumn by weeds like nettles, dock and mugwort.

But you can rest assured that a screen can trap the grains whichever type they may be and this has been tried and tested both here and other countries such as the US.

In an experiment to test the effectiveness of a pollen mesh on a controlled room it was demonstrated that against birch pollen a screen was 97% effective, and against grass pollen it was 100% effective – letting in no grains whatsoever.

What’s more, even against the smallest of grains, like stingy nettle and ambrosia pollen the mesh was rendered over 93% and 90% effective, respectively.

So installing a screen which can be customised to fit most windows and doors could really banish those summer sniffles.

Meshes also come with the added benefit that they keep out all manner of flies and bugs which like to torment us when the temperature rises – here’s hoping yours won’t – thanks to a cooling air flow sweeping through your windows and the contentment that your summer could be tissue free.