More recently I have discovered Yamoa, a novel plant extract. I believe that one of the ways that this is having its positive effect in both asthma and hayfever is by an immune modulatory action leading to less allergic response and less inflammation in the airways. (See other sections on this website for more details and clinical experience with this product). There may be a genetic link in hayfever. You are more likely to develop it if your parents had hay fever, or if they suffered with other allergic conditions such as eczema or asthma. So if your brother or sister already suffers from hay fever, then you may well have inherited the same sensitivity from your parents. Similarly if you had eczema or asthma as a child this makes you more likely to develop hay fever, and this is often the pattern that shows itself for someone who suffers from allergies. The peak age for hay fever is late teens and twenties. After that it usually gets gradually better, but may always give you some symptoms, especially in years with high pollen counts. The way we live may have some effect on the development of hay fever. Our modern lifestyle could expose us to many allergy-triggering substances. This allergy overload causes more people to become allergic to something. This could explain the increase in hay fever over recent years.