• Constant sneezing, a blocked nose, itchy, red, watery and puffy eyes can all conspire to make you feel and look less than your best. If you are a hayfever sufferer, be prepared to battle the season early and build taking your remedies into your daily routine, to help leave you looking and feeling great throughout the entire season.

  Whether you've been invited to a picnic in the park, the latest summer festival, or a bbq with friends, you'll want to ensure you look and feel tip-top before you leave the house. After all, you don't want to be the girl in the photo with the puffy eyes, smudged mascara and red nose!

  Angela Chalmers, Boots Pharmacist says: "The hayfever season usually peaks in May, so think about preventative measures in April to help minimise the look and feel of your symptoms. Keeping remedies next to your toothbrush or make-up bag will help remind you to take them so you don't get caught out when leaving the house, but if you have children, remember to keep your medicines out of their reach. There are a number of products you can try to help prevent and relieve symptoms and it's worth talking to your Boots pharmacy team to find the combination that's best for you."

  Hayfever already affects around 15 million people in the UK and this figure is rising.

  Angela's top tips to managing hayfever symptoms

  If you suffer from hayfever regularly, it is important to start an anti-hayfever regime early on in the season. Using eye drops, nasal spray and taking your tablets can all help to relieve your symptoms, some are even recommended to start before the season to help prevent symptoms in the first place.

• Wear large sunglasses to reduce pollen affecting the eyes. Choose hypo-allergenic eye make-up such as products from the No7 range and try to avoid rubbing itchy eyes
• Close your windows in the early morning and late afternoon/evening when pollen levels are at their highest. This should help prevent pollen from entering your home and disturbing your sleep
• Keep car windows shut when driving
• Take off clothes that you have worn outside before entering the bedroom - changing inside the bedroom will transfer the outside allergens attached to your clothes into the area where you sleep
• Wash your hair before going to bed. Pollen sticks to your hair and will transfer to your pillow making for a very disturbing bedmate
• Apply petroleum jelly inside each nostril to ease soreness and help prevent pollen from entering the nasal passages
• To prevent pollen from getting into fabrics avoid hanging out clothes or bed linen to dry when pollen counts are high.
• Taking an antihistamine can help with hayfever symptoms as it calms your body's allergic reaction to pollen.

NEW hayfever remedies from Boots

Boots Pharmacy Hayfever and Allergy 50 Microgram Nasal Spray (£5.59) offers year-round protection from airborne allergies. Relieves sneezing, itchy runny nose, itchy watery eyes, blocked nose and associated sinus pain, without causing drowsiness. (Contains fluticasone propionate, always read the label).

Boots Hayfever and Allergy Relief Tablets (£11.99, 60 tablets).
These non-drowsy one-a-day tablets help ease the symptoms of hayfever and other allergies. Now available in a larger pack size, they are better value and can help see you through the whole season. (Contains cetirizine hydrochloride, always read the label).

Boots Non Drowsy Hayfever Relief 10mg Tablets (7 pack, £2.59) only need to be taken once a day to help relieve sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes. (Contains loratadine, always read the label)

Boots Hayfever & Allergy Relief Syrup (70ml, £2.93) can help relieve the allergic symptoms (runny and itchy nose, with or without stuffiness) caused by hayfever and other allergies. (Contains cetirizine hydrochloride, always read the label).

Itchy and watery eyes are a common symptom of hayfever. Boots Hayfever Relief Eye Drops (10ml, £4.69) provide soothing relief for itchy, allergic eyes. (Contains sodium cromoglycate, always read the label)

Boots Alternatives Hayfever Relief (72 tablets, £4.50) contains allium, euphrasia and sabadilla, to help relieve symptoms of hayfever. (Always read the label)

Always refer to your GP or pharmacist before you start taking hayfever remedies or other medicinesVisit www.boots.com