Hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis, is the condition responsible for seasonal allergies or allergic reactions to other environmental allergens, like dust mites and animal dander. Estimates vary, but somewhere around 10–30% of the population worldwide experiences hay fever at least occasionally. Symptoms include nasal congestion, headaches, itchy throat and ocular symptoms, like itchy eyes, tearing and redness. Ultimately, these symptoms disrupt daily activities and affect quality of life for hay fever sufferers.
While many medications are available to reduce symptoms, many people prefer to include preventative measures. A new study from Japan, published in Scientific Reports, describes a large-scale survey of hay fever sufferers, comparing those who use eye washing as a preventative measure. The study reports that those using eyewash experience improved symptoms.
Eyewash is recommended, but does it work?
While eyewashes containing benzalkonium chloride as a preservative have been shown to exacerbate certain eye diseases, a preservative-free eyewash has a generally good safety profile and is endorsed by the Japanese Society of Ocular Allergology for reducing symptoms of allergic conjunctival diseases. However, robust research was lacking on the use of eyewash for hay fever.
The study authors write, “Following the elucidation of its efficacy, usage, and limitations, eyewash appears to have potential as an additional self-care option for patients with hay fever, owing to its ease of use and safety profile.”
So, to further assess this option, the team decided to conduct a large-scale analysis looking at the relationship between eyewash use and hay fever symptoms based on surveys conducted on a smartphone app called AllerSearch. The survey included questions about preventive behaviors, subjective symptoms, environmental data and quality of life.
In total, there were 476 participants with hay fever, of which 71 practiced eye washing. The results were adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, non-eye washing preventive behaviors and pollen levels using multivariate regression and mixed-effects models.
Eyewash users experience significant relief
According to the team’s analysis, hay fever sufferers who engaged in eye washing experienced significantly milder ocular symptoms, including eye itching, tearing and total ocular symptoms. They also had overall more symptom-free days than those that did not wash their eyes and better quality of life (QoL) scores, according to their self-reported assessments.
“Hay fever symptoms substantially diminish a patient’s QoL, and eye washing may allow patients to adequately suppress hay fever symptoms to maintain a sufficient level of QoL throughout the hay fever season,” the study authors write.
The survey also included questions about dry eye disease symptoms, which did not worsen for either group.
The team notes that the eyewash group did still experience a slight worsening of symptoms during hay fever season, but that the magnitude of the alleviation of symptoms with eye washing was still greater than the slight change during hay fever season.
Some lingering uncertainties
Overall, the improvements seen with eyewash use are promising and the efficacy and safety profile of preservative-free eyewash makes it an easy and safe addition to implement for hay fever care. However, the study does have some limitations. For example, the study population was limited to Japanese smartphone users who are likely to be more health-conscious than the general population due to engaging in more preventative strategies, which might affect results.
Also, the data were self-reported and may introduce recall bias. Data on the frequency of eyewash use and the type of eyewash is also unknown.
The study authors say, “In future studies, it will be necessary to stratify participants based on the frequency, type, and duration of eye wash use to evaluate the impact of these factors. In addition, future studies evaluating the effectiveness of eye washes should be designed to include a placebo or sham control.”
Written for you by our author Krystal Kasal, edited by Gaby Clark, —this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive.
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More information:
Ken Nagino et al, Association between eye washing and ocular symptoms of hay fever: a mobile app-based prospective cohort study in Japan, Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-24950-4
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