GP links hay fever to poor air quality in towns

A Kent-based GP has hinted that hay fever sufferers may see their conditions worsen due to poor air quality in urban areas.

Dr Julian Spinks told Kent Online that although the complaint is generally associated with rural parts due to the high levels of pollen, town dwellers are also feeling the effects of hay fever.

"We think it's due to pollution from things like cars that can add to that and again the sort of weather we've had has tended to hold pollution down near the ground," he told the news provider.

These comments come after a study by Tesco highlighted Kent as one of the areas that is most affected by hay fever.

This is perhaps unsurprising, as the county is know as the Garden of England, but the figures showed the most badly hit places were built up areas.

Indeed, Dover, Gillingham, Ashford, Maidstone and Whitstable were the five most prominent regions for hay fever cases in Kent.

Forecasters at the Met Office recently reported that April 2011 was the warmest ever recorded, which was bad news for hay fever sufferers.

Posted by Joseph Hutton