Itchy eyes, runny nose, coughing and sneezing? It could be hay fever. Hay fever is an allergy and people who have it are allergic to pollen.

People looked for advice on hay fever symptoms once every three seconds on Sunday, health officials have said.

It comes as the Met Office said the pollen count was expected to be "very high" in most of England and Wales on Tuesday.

NHS England, which runs the NHS.uk website, said there were 122,650 visits to the hay fever section of the website last week.

This is compared to the first week of May when there were just 35,000 visits, which means there has been an increase of 252%.

Sunday was the busiest day of the week, with 27,834 visits over 24 hours.

Hay fever is usually at its worst between March and September when the pollen count is at its highest and the weather can be warm, windy and humid.

Hay fever symptoms include sneezing, coughing, a runny nose and itchy eyes.

Hay fever is an allergy and people who have it are allergic to pollen.

Pollen is a type of fine powder which is released by lots of different plants and trees.

Pollen also has proteins in it which can cause your nose, eyes and throat to become swollen or irritated if you are allergic to it - essentially if you have hay fever.

This means people might suffer from symptoms like itchy eyes or runny noses because your body tries to protect itself by getting rid of the pollen.

Who is likely to get hay fever?
Hay fever is one of the most common allergies in the UK, affecting about 13 million people.

You can get it at any age, although it usually starts when you are young.

Not everyone has hay fever, but it is more common in people whose family members already have it or if you have asthma.

Hay fever is also more common in people with other allergies.

People can be affected by different types of pollen as well.

For example there is a lot of tree pollen in spring, grass pollen in summer and weed pollen in the autumn.

Tips for dealing with hay fever symptoms
Although there is no cure for hay fever, people who have it can manage the symptoms in many different ways.

Top tips include:

Wearing sunglasses to help block some of the pollen from getting into your eyes.
Avoiding freshly cut grass.
Changing your clothes if you have been outside.
Not spending too long outside in the early evening when the pollen count can be higher.
Closing your windows at night-time.
Can medicine help?
Sometimes special medicine called antihistamines or steroids are used to help prevent a reaction and reduce the swelling.

Always talk to your doctor for advice before taking any medication. They can also discuss different ways of treating hay fever symptoms.

People with hay fever can also check how high the levels of pollen in the air are, by watching special weather reports.

As well as telling you about the weather, presenters can also give a pollen count, to warn people when the levels are high.

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