For immediate release
Can’t Sleep? – Could be your hayfever keeping you awake!
Many insomniacs tend to blame their bad quality of sleep on stress, their sleeping partner, too much
drinking the night before or something they ate, but the true cause of their poor night’s sleep could
be staring them in the face – their hayfever! A recent review has shown a strong link between
hayfever and your quality of sleep [1].
The report, undertaken in Brazil, concludes that nasal obstruction, the most common and inconvenient
symptom of hayfever, deeply affects quality of life, by reducing the "restoring power of the sleep". “Poor
quality sleep causes daytime sleepiness, fatigue and significant impairment in learning, cognition and
professional performance. As a consequence, adults become ill-humoured, less efficient and more subject to
work-related accidents. Children tend to be shy, depressed, anxious or fearful.”
The review reports that “allergic rhinitis often disrupts sleep, leading to fatigue, irritability, memory deficits,
daytime sleepiness and depression.” “Quality of life is often impaired in patients with allergic rhinitis, due to
the classic symptoms of the disease (sneezing, pruritus*, rhinorrhea** and nasal obstruction). In addition, the
pathophysiology*** of allergic rhinitis often disrupts sleep, leading to fatigue, irritability, memory deficits,
daytime sleepiness and depression. Nasal obstruction, the most prominent symptom, is associated with
sleep disorders, which can have a profound effect on mental health, learning, behaviour and attention. The
deleterious impact that allergic rhinitis-related sleep disorders have on patient capacity to perform activities
of daily living is an important component of the morbidity of the disease.”
One solution for hayfever insomniacs is to use a pollen barrier balm such as HayMax™. It can be used at
night to help stop the pollen getting in the nose and eyes, as this is one of the most common triggers for
most people’s hayfever. The balm can be wiped on around the bony part of the eye sockets and at the base
of the nostrils, to help trap the pollen before it stops you getting your night’s sleep. It’s also drug-free, so
won’t cause any unpleasant symptoms the next day and will enable you to drive to work safely.
HayMax™ retails at £6.99 for a 5ml pot, and is available from www.haymax.biz on 01525 406600 or from
Asda, Holland & Barrett, Lloyds pharmacy, selected Boots, Tesco, Waitrose, and independent chemists,
pharmacies and health food stores nationwide.
NOTES TO EDITORS
* Severe itching of the skin
** persistent watery mucus discharge from the nose (as in the common cold).
*** The disordered physiological processes associated with disease or injury
Findings quoted in the Review “Allergic rhinitis: indicators of quality of life” [1]
 Sleep disorders can impair the quality of life, leading to fatigue, irritability, memory deficits and
daytime sleepiness [2,3].
 Sleep disorders also have a significant effect on mental health and can cause psychiatric diseases,
depression and anxiety [4].
 In addition, respiratory events associated with sleep disorders, in childhood and adolescence, are
associated with greater frequency of disorders related to learning, behavior and attention [5,6].
 Sleep disorders related to the inability to breathe well during the night are in fact commonly observed
in patients with AR. Studies on this topic have shown not only that the impairment of the sleep has
an important impact on social life, professional skills and learning of the patients but also that the
treatment of AR can have a beneficial effect, improving the quality of sleep and, consequently,
reducing all limitations secondary to the sleep disorders [7,8].
 Nasal obstruction and rhinorrhea are the nasal symptoms that have the greatest impact on sleep,
since postnasal drip and mucosal edema obstruct the nasal cavities, increasing nasal resistance.
Nasal obstruction combined with congestion is also a risk factor to respiratory events associated with
sleep disorders, including apnea, hypopnea and snoring [3,9].
 In patients with AR whose sleep was evaluated by polysomnography [10], the obstructive apnea
events were more frequent and of longer duration in those who presented nasal obstruction than in
those who did not. Similarly, the occurrence of apnea or hypopnea-severe respiratory disorders
related to the sleep-was 1.8 times more common among AR patients with nasal obstruction than
among those without [9].
 In a survey involving individuals with AR, 68% of those with perennial AR and 48% of those with
seasonal AR reported that the disease interfered with their sleep [11].
What is HayMax™?
HayMax™ is a pollen barrier balm that is proven to be effective against pollen. It is similar in appearance to a
lip balm, and is applied at the base of the nostrils to block pollen entering the nose. An independent study in
July 2009 by Professor Jean Emberlin, Director of the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit
(NPARU), showed that HayMax™ “does trap significantly more pollen than an uncoated nostril”. [12]
Pollen barriers can be used as soon as hayfever symptoms start. They are drug-free and cause no drowsy
side-effects and work by blocking the amount of pollen entering the body. An allergic reaction occurs when
too much pollen enters the body. Each person has a different ‘trigger’ level – the amount of pollen they can
tolerate before an allergic reaction occurs. If the pollen barrier stops enough pollen from entering the body to
keep the user below their trigger level, then no adverse reaction will occur.
This unique balm was developed by hayfever sufferer, Max Wiseberg, in his own kitchen, and has now
become a major brand stocked by major supermarket and pharmacy chains throughout the UK – including
Boots, Asda, Tesco, Lloyds pharmacy, Holland & Barrett and Waitrose.
HayMax™ is natural and certified 100% organic by the Soil Association. It is drug-free and non-drowsy, so is
suitable for pregnant women, breast-feeding mothers, and children.
HayMax™ has recently been awarded the Allergy Friendly Product Award, which shows that the products
are beneficial for allergy sufferers based on consumer opinion and approved by Allergy UK. This award
follows on from a Highly Commended Award in the recent Natural Lifestyle Awards, a gold award from
bizziebaby.co.uk and a nomination in the Vegetarian Society Awards 2010. And HayMax™ is now entitled to
carry the ‘Janey Loves’ logo – being recommended by radio star and natural health expert Janey Lee Grace.
References
[1] CAMELO-NUNES, Inês Cristina and SOLE, Dirceu. Allergic rhinitis: indicators of quality of life. J. bras.
pneumol. [online]. 2010, vol.36, n.1 [cited 2011-07-11], pp. 124-133 . Available from:
<http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-37132010000100017&lng=en&nrm=iso>.
ISSN 1806-3713. doi: 10.1590/S1806-37132010000100017.
[2] Ibiapina Cda C, Sarinho ES, Camargos PA, Andrade CR, Cruz Filho AA. Allergic rhinitis: epidemiological
aspects, diagnosis and treatment. J Bras Pneumol. 2008;34(4):230-40.
[3] Juniper EF, Rohrbaugh T, Meltzer EO. A questionnaire to measure quality of life in adults with nocturnal
allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2003;111(3):484-90.
[4] Chang PP, Ford DE, Mead LA, Cooper-Patrick L, Klag MJ. Insomnia in young men and subsequent
depression. The Johns Hopkins Precursors Study. Am J Epidemiol. 1997;146(2):105-14.
[5] Owens J, Opipari L, Nobile C, Spirito A. Sleep and daytime behavior in children with obstructive sleep
apnea and behavioral sleep disorders. Pediatrics. 1998;102(5):1178-84.
[6] Gozal D. Sleep-disordered breathing and school performance in children. Pediatrics. 1998;102(3 Pt
1):616-20.
[7] Hughes K, Glass C, Ripchinski M, Gurevich F, Weaver TE, Lehman E, et al. Efficacy of the topical nasal
steroid budesonide on improving sleep and daytime somnolence in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis.
Allergy. 2003;58(5):380-5.
[8] Mansfield LE, Diaz G, Posey CR, Flores-Neder J. Sleep disordered breathing and daytime quality of life in
children with allergic rhinitis during treatment with intranasal budesonide. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol.
2004;92(2):240-4.
[9] Young T, Finn L, Kim H. Nasal obstruction as a risk factor for sleep-disordered breathing. The University
of Wisconsin Sleep and Respiratory Research Group. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1997;99(2):S757-62.
[10] Marshall L, Born J. Brain-immune interactions in sleep. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2002;52:93-131.
[11] Blaiss M, Reigel T, Philpot E. A study to determine the impact of rhinitis on sufferers sleep and daily
routine. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2005;115(2 Suppl) S197.
[12] Prof Jean Emberlin, Independent Research on HayMax Pollen Barrier Balm, The National Pollen and
Aerobiology Research Unit (NPARU) University of Worcester WR2 6 AJ, July 20th 2009.
The study “aimed to assess the number of pollen grains that are trapped by the HayMax™ balm when
applied in a standard manner to the rim and the inside of nostrils compared with the amount deposited on
uncoated nostrils” and used adult volunteers (over 18 years). The experiment was carried out on high grass
pollen count days (50 grains per cubic metre or more daily average). Professor Emberlin found that
HayMaxTM resulted in a “reduction to the amount of allergen entering the nose”.
ENDS