Do you spend all of the summer months sniffing, sneezing and being snotty, along with all the usual itchy red eyes and the antisocial behaviour trait of staying indoors all summer? Yes, I'm talking about hay fever. For those who suffer from it, it can be a nightmare and something that non-sufferers don't and can't understand.

If, like me, you seem to have tried every hay fever remedy under the sun, you may not have heard of this one: HayMax. I first came across it advertised in a gardening magazine, in the form of an advertorial with testimonies from gardeners who could suddenly go outdoors without the fear of being attacked by pollen. I was ever so slightly dubious, to say the least. But when my hay fever symptoms worsened this summer (probably due to the fact that I have started growing vegetables this year and spent a lot of time in the garden), I decided that anything was worth a go.

HayMax is sold in places such as Superdrug and Boots for about £6 and it's packaged in a bright yellow box. Inside the box is a little white pot similar to a pot of lip balm, apart from having 'HayMax' across the top. The 5ml contents of the pot also look a lot like lip balm. It's organic and drug-free and is marketed as a 'pollen barrier', being made from sunflower oil and beeswax. You smear a little of the contents beneath each nostril and reapply every so often, especially after sneezing or blowing your nose.

So, does it work? I've been using HayMax for the last month or so and I've stopped taking my hay fever tablets. My symptoms are massively reduced, with only slightly itchy eyes remaining. I'd smear this balm onto my eyeballs if I thought it would work. And if I didn't think it would damage my eyes!

The balm is easy to apply, it's easy to get just a smear out of the tub and that makes it last for ages. My pot will easily last me all summer. There's no smell from the balm and it doesn't look greasy on my skin, unlike something such as Vaseline, which would essentially do the same job but make the underside of your nose greasy, shiny and possibly spot-prone. The only time I've been able to tell that I've got the balm on has been when I've reapplied it too often, causing a build-up of the product.

So, if you'd like to be able to enjoy the summer, if indeed we have one, then I would heartily recommend buying a pot of HayMax. I think your friends might appreciate it too, especially if you start sneezing all over the barbeque!

Note: This is a review of the HayMax Pure