For some people a runny nose, itchy eyes and sneezing are part of their daily lives as the hay fever season arrives. Photo provided to China Daily

While most people celebrate the warm weather and green shoots of spring, the season can be decidedly less joyful for sufferers of hay fever. Liu Zhihua reports.

Spring is a wonderful time of year for most people. It is a chance to enjoy beautiful flowers and warm air. But for those who suffer from hay fever, like Beijing resident Song Wei, it can be a challenging season. With the pollen from poplar and willow trees blowing through the Beijing air, the 63-year-old has to stay indoors as much as possible.

When flowers have only just started to bloom, he must wear a mask everywhere he goes.

"Otherwise I will sneeze, and have a stuffy nose, watery eyes and headaches," Song says.

Hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis, happens when the lining of the nose becomes inflamed in response to breathing in certain substances, known as allergens.

Its common symptoms include sneezing, a blocked, runny or itchy nose, and itchy or watery eyes. Sometimes, sufferers will have itchy throat, poor ability to smell and headaches.

In China, the prevalence of the condition is 8 to 24 percent, although statistics vary in different regions.

Statistics show increasing numbers of people are suffering from the ailment, according to Zhu Li, deputy director with the otolaryngology, head and neck surgery department with Peking University Third Hospital.

But about 70 percent of hay fever sufferers fail to get a correct diagnosis, because it is easy to confuse the symptoms for other ailments, such as the common cold, according to Zhang Shunan, director with the lung disease department with China-Japan Friendship Hospital.