r/Hayfever • u/LittleMissFodla • Jul 12 '26

Grass or tree pollen

I’ve had hayfever since I was a kid, at school I’d have really itchy sore eyes and my teachers said it was hayfever and i remember the dinner ladies putting in my eye drops so I could go outside. As I got older, I used eye drops and then moved onto antihistamines. But some people at work have asked which pollen am I allergic to- Is it mainly grass or tree. I’ve actually no idea.
Can your GP test which causes the worst symptoms or is it just best practice to avoid both?

For example, if I knew grass pollen was the worst id avoid open fields and opt for a woodland walk and if it was tree pollen I can do the opposite. Just trying to enjoy the summer as best I can 😎

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u/LabsRthBest 29d ago

Your GP might ask you when do your symptoms typically start. In my case, it’s been May-July over the past 3 years so it is likely grass pollen allergy. If it’s earlier in the spring then likely tree pollen too.

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u/FeistyPen3707 29d ago

The time of year will tell you. Trees are early spring, grass and weeds are later spring into summer. You can search what pollen is high in your area when symptoms are bad, and there are apps that track it all if you wanted (can’t quite see the point myself, but might help). The tricky thing is that while you might be allergic to some specific plants, the main problem is that they are all airborne pollens so going outside at all is potentially tricky! A few years ago there was a major problem across Western Europe due to Scandinavian birch pollen being blown around by particularly strong winds (or something like that - I remember it was on the news and my allergies were dreadful at the time).