The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7498 p461
19 April 2008

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National hay fever campaign launched

TV presenter Melinda Messenger joined Welsh Pharmacy Board member Marc Donovan earlier this week to support a national hay fever campaign launched by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

The campaign, encouraging the public to visit their pharmacy for hay fever advice and treatment, follows a survey commissioned by the Society that revealed that many members of the public could be misdiagnosing their symptoms and failing to obtain the correct treatment.

“The numbers of people failing to seek advice about their symptoms is surprising,” said David Pruce, the Society’s director of practice and quality improvement.

The survey was carried out by YouGov from 2–4 April 2008 and involved 1,981 members of the public. Almost three quarters of the respondents who had experienced hay fever-like symptoms said they had not sought advice before selecting a treatment.