The constant tickle at the back of your palate. The sore, streaming eyes. The obsessive checking of the pollen forecast. If you’re a hay fever sufferer, the start of warm summer days can fill you with dread instead of joy.

Around 15 percent of children and over a quarter of UK adults suffer from hay fever, a figure that’s trebled in the last 30 years, according to statistics from Allergy UK. Symptoms are at their worst in the UK grass pollen season that runs between April and August, depending on the year’s weather patterns.

But while allergies to pollen can interfere with sleep and make it hard to concentrate at work, for some the symptoms can be downright debilitating. Not only is hay fever known to be a trigger in the development of asthma, studies show that it can worsen the condition. When there are higher concentrations of grass pollen in the air, more adults are admitted to hospital because of their asthma.

But is there anything you can do to help yourself that doesn’t involve popping another antihistamine and not leaving the house until Autumn? Luckily, there is. Cast your poor itchy eyes over our list of natural hay fever remedies. Most of them won’t cost you a penny so you’ve got nothing to lose except that stuffy nose.