Nothing to sneeze at

Winter is almost over in the Northern Hemisphere and hay fever sufferers are already beginning to sneeze and sniffle. Although most sufferers try to deal with the symptoms themselves, that can have potentially dangerous consequences.

"At least a third of all patients who have an allergy that they don't treat properly will suffer from allergic asthma in the short or long term," says Thomas Fuchs, a representative of the Association of German Allergists.

Starting a course of immunotherapy as early as possible is the best way of avoiding complications.