Aggressive pollen allergy: Survey shows how many sufferers have to call in sick because of symptoms
Created: 06/07/2022, 16:42
By: Juliane Gutmann
Hay fever can have an enormous impact on the patient's everyday life – in a negative way.
A new survey shows how affected many allergy sufferers feel.
Compared to 1990, the allergy season not only starts 20 days earlier, but also lasts 10 days longer.
This is the conclusion of US researchers, who examined in a study how climate change is affecting the pollen season.
"We find widespread pollen season advances and extensions (+20 days) and increases in pollen concentrations (+21 percent) across North America that
are strongly coupled to observed warming,
" said the researchers led by William RL Anderegg of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Persistent drought is one reason the pollen season lasts longer.
The mast year of the trees in 2022 also leads to more suffering for many hay fever sufferers.
According to the Allergy Information Service, doctors diagnose hay fever in 15 percent of adults in Germany during their lifetime.
A similar trend can be seen in children.
Frightening:
According to the Allergy Information Service, the number of people with allergies in western industrialized countries has increased twenty-fold in the last few decades
.
Some of those affected suffer from enormously stressful
symptoms
.
The nose is running, the eyes are watering: the daily fate of hay fever allergy sufferers.
© Imago
Twelve percent of pollen allergy sufferers take sick leave from their doctor if they have severe symptoms
As part of a survey on April 20, 2022, it was determined how hay fever affects those affected in everyday life.
The survey was conducted by an independent research institute on behalf of Aeris by iRobot, a developer and manufacturer of mobile medical air purifiers and air filters.
401 pollen allergy sufferers reported how the allergy affected their lives.
The survey results in detail:
Every second respondent states
that even the thought of the upcoming allergy season causes stress.
Every fifth allergy sufferer states
that he or she has to neglect family and friends during the hay fever season.
According to the Aeris by iRobot press release, more than a third deliberately refrain from joint leisure activities such as vacations, excursions and festivals.
One in four respondents
also felt isolated from others during the hay fever season.
Two-thirds of those surveyed
describe their complaints as strong and rather strong.
Nevertheless, most respondents state that they go to work even when they are suffering greatly.
Twelve percent of those surveyed stated
that they take sick leave if the allergy symptoms are too pronounced.
Shortness of breath, for example, is one of the very limiting symptoms.
According to the survey, 22 percent of those surveyed had mild symptoms, and 13 percent said they suffered severely from the typical hay fever symptoms.
The majority of 78 percent said they had rather severe symptoms.
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