Hay Fever Vocabulary: Top 5 Symptoms

Hey! Hay fever’s here! Coughs, itches & sneezes…a real spring bummer! Are you taking your antihistamines? So spring has brought its seasonal illness, «hay fever». According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is defined as «an allergy caused by pollen or dust in which the mucous membranes of the eyes and nose are inflamed, causing running at the nose and watery eyes.» And not only that, according to the NHS (the UK’s National Health Service), these symptoms may also include cough, headaches, earache, etc. So yeah! Thank you, spring! You’re the best! xD Anyway, I thought it would only be appropriate to write a short vocabulary post on these symptoms. So here you go! Illustrated and all!

1. Frequent sneezing

I hate spring! I’ve been sneezing all day!
In spring I get sneezing fits all the time. ( = sneezing «attacks»)

2. Runny or blocked nose

I can’t smell a thing. My nose’s completely blocked!
Have you got a tissue? I need to blow this runny nose of mine!

3. Itchy, red and/or watery eyes

I’d better splash my eyes with some water. My eyes itch like hell!
What’s with the watery eyes? Hay fever again?

4. Itchy throat, mouth, nose and/or ears

The worst thing’s when you get an itchy nose, because you can’t do much about it.
Can’t you take a sweet or something to soothe that itchy throat of yours?

5.  Cough (pronounced: /kof/)

Poor Tom… he’s got a terrible cough, hasn’t he?
Have you got any cough syrup? ( = liquid cough medicine)

So yeah, spring’s a real b…eautiful time of the year, isn’t it? I honestly hope your symptoms aren’t as bad as mine… because this time of the year in the south of Spain is a tough one.

If you have any questions regarding how to use these words/phrases, please comment below. If not, just like and share!

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