As any hay fever sufferer knows, when the pollen count is high it can seem as if nothing works.
Whether it’s popping an antihistamine or the bizarre suggestion that sex helps hay fever symptoms , there’s no shortage of “cures” and advice.
But how far would you go to banish the itchy, streaming eyes, the fatigue, the excessive sneezing and runny nose which all come as part and parcel of hay fever?
Would you be prepared to rub STINGING NETTLES all over you?
It sounds mad, but Goran Pavlovic claims it’s cured his hay fever, CambridgeshireLive reports.
Explaining how he came to discover this, he wrote on Facebook : “All my life I suffered from hay fever . I pretty much chocked to death every summer.
“Then, few years ago, an old man (crazy old man according to my wife) told me to try nettles.
“Basically, as soon as the spring starts, he told me, and the first nettles sprout out, pick a bunch and sting myself with them.
“Do that once a week until the end of autumn. Apparently this would make my immune system concentrate on nettles and forget about the pollen…
“To my wife’s horror and the amusement of the fellow walkers in parks and forests, I soon started the “therapy”.
“This is my hand in the nettles bush. And lo and behold it worked…I haven’t had any problems with pollen for 3 years now.
“So there you have it. Just wanted to share with you my experience. Just in case someone is interested in use of herbs for medicinal purposes…
“And as the law requires, here is the disclaimer: don’t do this at home.”
To be clear, if you are struggling with hay fever, speak to your doctor or pharmacist.
However, there could be something to Goran’s cure.
Stinging nettles are thought to be able to reduce the amount of histamine in the body caused by allergies.
But maybe a nice nettle tea is a better way of testing this theory…