Q. How do I deal with hayfever – I’m always sneezing in the summer?

A. Hayfever can make a beautiful summer miserable if you suffer from it. The symptoms of hay fever include sneezing and coughing, a runny or blocked nose, itchy, red or watery eyes, itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears, loss of smell, pain around your temples and forehead, headache, earache and feeling tired.

There’s no cure but there are some things you can do to reduce your chances of suffering.

If you put Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen, wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting into your eyes, shower and change your clothes after you've been outside to wash pollen off

stay indoors whenever possible, keep windows and doors shut as much as possible, vacuum regularly and dust with a damp cloth. You can also buy a pollen filter for the air vents in your car and a vacuum cleaner with a special HEPA filter.

If you do suffer – don’t cut grass or walk on grass, spend too much time outside, keep fresh flowers in the house, smoke or be around smoke – it makes your symptoms worse, dry clothes outside – they can catch pollen or let pets into the house– they can carry pollen indoors.

Speak to your pharmacist if you have hay fever. They can give advice and suggest the best treatments, like antihistamine drops, tablets or nasal sprays to help with itchy and watery eyes and sneezing and a blocked nose.r arun

Q. Am I at risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT)?

A. Now is around that time of year that people’s thoughts turn to holidays. If you are travelling far – particularly on a flight – but actually in any vehicle, people do start to worry about DVT. There are conditions which may increase your risk of DVT on flights of eight hours or more.

These include having a history of DVT or pulmonary embolism, cancer, stroke, heart disease, inherited tendency to clot (thrombophilia), recent surgery in pelvic region or legs(less than 6 weeks), obesity, pregnancy or hormone replacement therapy.

Before you travel, don't leave it until the last minute to buy medication, compression stockings or anything else for your flight.

Wearing compression stockings during flights of four hours or more can significantly reduce your risk of DVT, as well as leg swelling (oedema).

The below-knee stockings apply gentle pressure to the ankle to help blood flow. They come in a variety of sizes and there are also different levels of compression. Class 1 stockings (exerting a pressure of 14-17 mmHg at the ankle) are generally sufficient.

It's vital that compression stockings are measured and worn correctly. Ill-fitting stockings could further increase the risk of DVT.

Flight socks are available from pharmacies, airports and many retail outlets. Take advice on size and proper fitting from a pharmacist or another health professional.

During your journey, wear loose, comfortable clothes, consider flight socks, walk around whenever you can, drink plenty of water and don't drink alcohol or take sleeping pills.