Hay Fever, Spring and Asthma: What Wollongong Families Need to Know This September

Hay Fever, Spring and Asthma: What Wollongong Families Need to Know This September

Spring showed up in Wollongong the way it always does. The jacarandas aren't out yet, but the grass is growing, the windows are open again, and somewhere in your house someone hasn't stopped sneezing since Tuesday. If that's familiar, you're not imagining it, and you're not alone.

Hay fever, known clinically as allergic rhinitis, is what happens when your immune system reacts to pollen as though it were a threat, causing sneezing, itchy eyes and a blocked or runny nose. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), around 19% of Australians live with it, and it flares from August through the grass pollen peak in October and November. For some people it's a mild annoyance. For others, particularly those who also live with asthma, it's the thing that tips a manageable spring into a difficult one.

This week is also National Asthma Week (1–7 September), and the 2026 campaign from Asthma Australia is focused on asthma and women: one in five Australian women live with asthma, and women are twice as likely to die from it than men. Hay fever and asthma are closely linked conditions, which makes this a good week to talk about both.

Why does spring hit some people so much harder than others?

Grass pollen is the main trigger through spring in the Illawarra, and the season now runs longer than a lot of people expect, building from August, peaking in October and November, with a smaller second wave in January and February. If your eyes are streaming, your nose won't stop running, and you feel foggy or tired for no obvious reason, hay fever is a reasonable explanation, especially if it happens at a similar time every year.

Children get hay fever too. AIHW data shows around 10% of kids under 14 are affected (12% of boys, 8% of girls), and it's often mistaken for "always having a cold" through spring and summer. Here's the quick way to tell them apart:

What's the connection between hay fever and asthma?

They're not the same condition, but they often travel together. Hay fever inflames the upper airway, and for people who also have asthma, that inflammation can make the lower airway more reactive too. This is part of why Asthma Australia is using this year's Asthma Week to talk specifically about women, hormonal changes across life stages can shift how asthma shows up and how well it's controlled, and hay fever season is exactly the kind of trigger that can make a quiet asthma diagnosis noisy again.

There's also a more specific spring risk worth knowing about: thunderstorm asthma. On days with very high grass pollen followed by a certain kind of storm, pollen grains can burst into much smaller fragments that reach deeper into the lungs. It's rare, but it can affect people who've never been formally diagnosed with asthma, not just those who already carry a reliever. The main risk window in NSW runs October through December. If you or your kids have hay fever and you notice tightness in the chest, wheezing, or a cough that doesn't fit the usual sneezing-and-itchy-eyes picture, that's worth mentioning to your GP now, before the storms start rolling through.

What actually helps with hay fever?

The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) recommends a staged approach, and you don't need to jump straight to the strongest option:

1. Daily saline nasal rinse: a gentle first step, suitable for most people including through pregnancy
2. Non-drowsy antihistamines: the next layer for sneezing, itching, and a runny nose
3. Nasal corticosteroid spray: for more persistent congestion, used correctly and consistently; it tends to make the biggest difference but takes a few days of regular use to build up

What doesn't tend to help much on its own is waiting it out. Hay fever that's left unmanaged for weeks on end disrupts sleep, concentration, and for a lot of parents, patience. It's also worth having it properly assessed rather than guessed at, because ongoing nasal symptoms can sometimes point to something else going on, like sinusitis, that benefits from a different approach.

A note on pregnancy, breastfeeding and hay fever

This is where a lot of general hay fever advice falls short, and it's something we think about often. Not every antihistamine or nasal spray is considered equally suitable during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, and what worked for you before isn't necessarily the right call now. If you're expecting, feeding, or trying to conceive and hay fever is making spring miserable, it's worth a conversation rather than reaching for whatever's in the cupboard. This is exactly the kind of everyday question our GPs are used to sitting with, alongside the bigger stuff. If breastfeeding itself is where the complexity sits, a feeding support consult gives you the time to work through it properly, with both the medical and lactation side covered in one appointment.

When it's time to come in

Book a GP appointment if:

• Over-the-counter options aren't touching your symptoms, or you've been managing hay fever the same way for years without checking it's still the right approach
• You or your child are getting recurrent sinus pain, facial pressure, or symptoms that hang around well past the usual few weeks
• You have both hay fever and asthma, and this spring's symptoms feel harder to control than usual
• You're pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning a pregnancy and want to know what's safe to take
• You've noticed wheezing, chest tightness, or breathlessness alongside your usual hay fever symptoms, even if you've never been told you have asthma

If asthma is part of the picture, spring is also a good time to sit down with your GP and update your asthma action plan, particularly with thunderstorm asthma season approaching. It takes one appointment, and it means you and your family know exactly what to do if things escalate quickly.

And if hay fever season is landing on top of the general exhaustion of early parenthood, broken sleep, a snuffly baby, everyone a bit more frayed than usual, that's exactly what a deeper support consult is for. It's more time than a standard appointment gives you, to look at the whole picture rather than just the sneezing.

Healthcare should feel human, even for something as ordinary as hay fever. If spring has taken over your household, book in and we'll work through it with you, not just hand you a script and send you on your way.

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This article shares general health information and isn't a substitute for personalised medical advice. If hay fever or asthma symptoms are affecting your daily life, sleep, or ability to get through the day, book a time with your GP.

FAQs

Is hay fever the same as a cold? No. A cold usually brings a sore throat and thicker mucus, clears up in a week or two, and can happen any time of year. Hay fever brings clear, watery nasal discharge and itchy eyes, tends to show up at the same time every year, and can last for weeks while pollen counts stay high.

Can hay fever make asthma worse? Yes, for people who have both. Hay fever inflames the upper airway, and that inflammation can make asthma harder to control during pollen season, even if it's normally well managed the rest of the year.

Are antihistamines safe to take during pregnancy or while breastfeeding? Some are considered more suitable than others, and it depends on your individual situation. Rather than guessing, it's worth checking with your GP so you're using something appropriate for where you're at.

What is thunderstorm asthma and should I be worried about it? It's a rare but serious event where high grass pollen combined with a particular kind of storm can trigger sudden, severe asthma symptoms, including in people who've never had a formal asthma diagnosis. The main risk period in NSW is October to December. If you have hay fever, it's worth knowing the warning signs and having an asthma action plan in place before the storms arrive.

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