I was 12 years old, in France, on holiday with my family. The sun was shining, the old farmhouse in which we were staying was gorgeous with a beautiful garden, and... I was utterly miserable. Because, for the first time in my life, I had hay fever. For the whole fortnight, my eyes were red, swollen, itchy, and streaming. At my mother's suggestion, I tried bathing them with witch hazel, then started wearing sunglasses. Nothing helped, though.
Back in the UK, my GP prescribed anti-histamine eyedrops. Later, although I can't remember exactly when, I began taking anti-histamine tablets too. And, slowly, over the years, having hay fever became part of who I was. From spring to autumn, I'd be dosing up on anti-histamine and using eyedrops. I carried the latter with me at all times, for fear I'd be caught out and have to suffer those agonising itchy eyes which, for me, were always the worst symptom.
Keen to find an alternative to medication, I tried various 'natural' treatments, from homoeopathic and herbal remedies to smearing vaseline around my nostrils and flushing my sinuses with saline solution. Some of the things I tried gave some limited relief, but most did nothing, and none was the cure I so desperately wanted.
In the meantime, I worked my way through a range of different anti-histamine types, as each gradually stopped working as my tolerance to them increased. I really needed a different approach. And finally, some 30 years after that French holiday, I found a solution quite by chance. I had been researching the then popular trend of juicing for a feature, and discovered the self-proclaimed 'Juice Master' Jason Vale.
Vale is evangelical about the health benefits of juicing, and has written several books on the subject, as well as making a documentary and establishing a 'juicy' spa. He claims to have overcome numerous health issues himself, including asthma, psoriasis and being overweight, through drinking juices made from vegetables and fruit, and he even suggests particular combinations to tackle specific complaints.
The one that caught my eye was a simple blend of juiced ginger and apple that Vale maintained could combat hay fever. All you had to do, he said, was juice half an apple with a thumb-sized chunk of ginger each day and drink it. It sounded worth a try.
Ginger, I already knew, was considered to have powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Classically taken to ease nausea or fight a cold, it is also used to boost digestion, improve immunity, and lower blood pressure. Recently, it's also been found to help conditions such as arthritis. Could it really beat my hay fever though?
The answer was a resounding yes. As prescribed by Vale, I started drinking the ginger juice in March, well before the start of my personal hay fever season. I had a 'shot' each morning, and waited to see what would happen. And absolutely nothing did! March became April became May became June and... nothing. For the first time since that childhood trip to France, I experienced absolutely no hay fever symptoms.
Since then, I've juiced religiously, faithfully downing my ginger shot every day before breakfast. Until this year, that is, when I moved in with my partner and somehow neglected to even unpack my trusty juicer, let alone use it.
Unsurprisingly, my hay fever symptoms have returned. At the moment, they seem milder than they used to be – but then, it is only June.
So, I'm back on the anti-histamines for now, but I've learnt a powerful lesson. And the juicer is back in the kitchen, where it belongs.