BALLARAT is experiencing a horror hayfever season - and our wet winter is to blame.According to allergist Dr Brett Knight, this spring's hayfever season has been the worst for many years."There's been a bit more rain leading up to spring, so there's more grass around and, as it's flowered, it's released a lot more pollen in the air," Dr Knight said.He said he was seeing hayfever sufferers with more severe symptoms and people experiencing the condition for the first time."The pollen count has been very high."This year has been one out of the bag."Dr Knight said thunderstorms often created problems for hayfever sufferers, as they very quickly forced a large amount of pollen into the lower atmosphere."On those days, people who suffer from hayfever or asthma should stay indoors as much as possible."He said there were several medications that could also help, including anti-histamines which reduced acute nasal swelling.Eye symptoms could be relieved by anti-histamine drops, and steroid nasal sprays were also good for symptoms which lasted from two days to a week."However, these don't actually do anything to the underlying cause," Dr Knight said.He said he treated about 100 Ballarat people annually with immunotherapy, where the patient is skin tested for their specific allergy before a vaccine is created from that product.The patient then receives a needle weekly for three months to change their immune system response."It's the most definitive and most successful long-term treatment."