Skin patches coated with allergens may be a more convenient and effective way to treat hay fever than current methods, according to a study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

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Hay fever, also called allergic rhinitis, causes cold-like signs and symptoms such as a runny nose, congestion, sneezing and sinus pressure.

While the warm weather has been welcomed by some, for hay fever sufferers the dry season has been a miserable start to the year in Southland.

As this hay fever sufferer is well aware, summer is the time of the year when you use heaps of tissues as pollen plays havoc with those suffering from hay fever.