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'tis the season to be sneezing - Solenco South Africa
August 10, 2016 Bianca Leonard

'tis the season to be sneezing

My sneezing and people mistaking me for a teary-eyed Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, usually signal the start of the peak pollen season - as I’m sure many hay fever sufferers can also identify with. This misery will unfortunately come again with the start of Spring and may well last into the early Autumn.


According to Dr Allan Morris, an Adult and Children’s Allergy Consultant with postgraduate diplomas in Allergy, Dermatology, Family Practice and Paediatrics from The Allergy Clinic in South Africa, that although often trivialized, allergic rhinitis and hay fever that are left untreated can cause a significant impact on quality of life and untreated is more debilitating than asthma.


A survey of almost 2000 South Africans with hay fever, conducted by Hay Max, found that symptoms of nasal allergies are often severe enough to impair overall quality of life, affecting mood, performance at work and romantic relationships. More than half of respondents felt that troublesome symptoms, such as sneezing and a persistently itchy and runny nose – usually accompanied by sinus pain and headaches – significantly influenced their mood, making them more impatient with others.

Seasonal allergies are usually triggered by pollen

Seasonal allergies are usually triggered by pollen – not the yellow bits from flowers, but rather the microscopic pollens released by grass and trees. The Allergy Glossary reveals that in much of South Africa, the most common pollens are grass pollens, followed by the major tree pollens from the Acacia, Willow, Cypress, Oak, Eucalyptus, Plane and Poplar trees. Unfortunately for hay fever sufferers, because of the long pollination season in South Africa, seasonal allergies might last as long as 10 months.


So pretty tough for anyone who struggles with hay fever and although there is nothing that Solenco SA can offer you when you are out and about, we can most certainly make a difference when you are in an office, or your own home and especially when you want to get a good night’s sleep.

So what can be done?

According to Chris Michael from Meaco in Great Britain, pollen is actually rather easy to remove from the indoor air. “As long as you size your air purifier to the size of your room then you should find that all is okay and you will notice a real difference.”

Solenco offers 2 great Air Purifiers. The Solenco CF8500 and The Solenco CF8608 fitted with 5 stage air purification system consisting of a Pre Filter, True HEPA filter, Carbon Filter, PCO and also a UV lamp. Both these units are also endorsed by the Allergy Foundation of South Africa. 

If your symptoms are mild then base the air purifier selection on three air changes an hour, for severe symptoms move up the scale to perhaps five air changes an hour or for really bad cases seven or eight.


Run the air purifier in the room on the high fan speed for as long as possible and only drop down to slower fan speeds when you have to (when you want to go to sleep for example).  The longer you run the fan for the cleaner the air in the room will become.  Try and keep the door to other rooms closed and be patient, it will take a few days before you notice any difference.

Running an air purifier in your room will help you cope with hay fever and it can make the difference between a good night’s sleep and waking feeling like you have had no sleep at all. 



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