Hay fever puts Brits off their partners

It’s hard enough as it is for hay fever sufferers when the pollen count is high, but now there’s more bad news - their partner is likely to be so put off by the symptoms, sex is off the cards.

According to a study by Kleenex, 22 per cent of people would be put off sleeping with someone with hay fever – while 40 per cent wouldn’t even want to kiss them.

[Related article: National Allergy Week research links ‘healthy’ food to hay fever]

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) said they found it ‘unpleasant’ to be around those suffering from hay fever symptoms.

The symptoms vary, but sufferers normally endure watery eyes, runny nose and sneezing when the pollen count is high.

One fifth of hay fever sufferers surveyed said that having the condition meant they had less sex. The men in the survey fared worse, with 24 per cent claiming they didn’t sleep with their partner as often when they were experiencing hay fever symptoms.

[Related article: 15 steps to allergy free]

Which is rather a shame considering a 2009 study by scientists in Iran found that having sex could actually help ‘cure’ hay fever.

It’s not just people’s sex lives that dip when they’re suffering from hay fever. With symptoms normally lasting three weeks, 87 per cent of people said that cannot work at full capacity during a bad bout of allergies.

[Related article: A tenth of couples in the UK sleep apart]

Hay fever sufferers are also affected emotionally by their sniffling. More than a third (34 per cent) say they’re embarrassed by their symptoms, and more than half (54 per cent) say they feel less attractive when they’re suffering from hay fever. Aww…

And as a final straw, 35 per cent of sufferers say they’re made to feel like they’re dramatising their problems and fishing for sympathy.

So the next time you see someone with a runny nose and watery eyes, maybe it’s time you paid them a compliment, rather than looking for the nearest door.