Why do we get hay fever?

What's Up Docs?

BBC

Health & Fitness, Nature, Science

4.4 • 659 Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the ideas shaping our health and wellbeing.

In this episode, they turn their attention to hay fever. What is it, why do so many of us get it, and is it getting worse? They break down what’s happening in the body, how to tell it apart from a cold, and why timing matters when it comes to treatment. They also explore what actually works to manage symptoms, and what doesn’t.

To help them get to the root of it, they’re joined by Stephen Till, Professor of Allergy at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals and King's College London.

If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08000 665 123.

Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar Editor: Jo Rowntree Researcher: Grace Revill Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable Visual Producer: Leon Gower Digital Lead: Richard Berry Composer: Phoebe McFarlane Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby

At the BBC: Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts

A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts.
0:05.6	Hello, I've just nipped in before your BBC podcast starts to tell you all about
0:09.4	You're Dead to Me. We're the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Also from the BBC
0:13.9	and presented by me, Greg Jenner. I should have told you that at the beginning. Sorry.
0:17.9	Anyway, like many other BBC podcasts, such as Desert Island Discs, Evil Genius, or In Our Time, your dead to me is available first on BBC Sounds,
0:26.3	a whole month earlier than anywhere else, in fact. So if you can't wait another day to hear the very
0:31.6	latest in history and loads of other good stuff, then listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:36.5	Hello and welcome. Hang on, Chris.
0:39.6	Huh? Uh-huh. No, I'm okay. Keep going.
0:43.4	Welcome to... Hachoo!
0:46.0	Welcome to What's Up Docs. I'm Dr. Chris. I'm Dr. Zand. And as my sneeze might have
0:50.5	indicated, it is pollen season. Right now, up and down the UK, people will be suffering from hay fever. That's right, Zandi. And for some people, it's just a bit annoying red eyes and a runny nose some days. For other people, it is a life-altering problem that can be really debilitating for people. You know what, Chris, it would make a great topic for an episode. Well, Zand, you are in luck because today it just so happens that hay fever is the topic.
1:16.0	We are going to find out what exactly it is, how to know if we've got it, what we can do to
1:20.0	help with the symptoms, the basic biology and so much more.
1:26.1	Zandi, it's lovely to see you. I haven't seen you for a few days. Have you got anything interesting
1:29.8	for me? I have got something interesting for you, which is that it was my youngest son, Rex. It was his
1:36.5	birthday yesterday. And a few people remembered. Our friend Pip bought him a fantastic toy that
1:43.9	you and I will remember. She had got him some
1:47.1	stickle bricks. Do you remember stickle bricks? Do you remember stickle bricks? This is very weird.
1:51.7	I think completely independently of this, I had a fairly heated discussion with diner and a friend
1:58.2	two days ago about whether they were brickle sticks.
2:01.5	Well, they're not.
	...

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