It's March, it's green and blooming everywhere.
This is a real pleasure for nature lovers - but a real pain for allergy sufferers.
Because hazel and alder make noses itch and eyes water.
Smart everyday rules, a well thought-out treatment and: a simple app provide relief.
Munich
- Anyone from Munich who felt an itchy nose last Thursday may be allergic to hazel.
Because on that day 449 hazel pollen per cubic meter were measured in Munich.
If you live in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and suffer from a hazel allergy, you probably suffered a lot on February 26th when 744 pollen per cubic meter flew around there.
How does the informed allergy sufferer know?
From the “ePIN” app of the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL), which shows the pollen count at eight locations across Bavaria every day.
"Hazel and alder pollen is currently flying in Munich more and more," reports a spokeswoman for the LGL.
“Pollen from ash and birch can also be found very occasionally.” That sounds early, but corresponds to “the normal flowering time of the plants,” said the spokeswoman.
However, it has been observed in recent years that the flowering period of some plants begins earlier because the average temperatures rise, the spokeswoman said.
"Some plants actually have longer flowering phases", reports Eva Maria Oppel, head of the allergy outpatient department at the LMU Clinic for Dermatology and Allergology in Munich.
The LGL's pollen monitor is on the roof of their clinic;
in this way the allergist can follow exactly how the pollen count changes.
Their conclusion: “It starts earlier and more massive.” Another problem is environmental pollution, especially in cities: fine dust molecules and car exhaust fumes promote the harmful potential of pollen on the respiratory mucous membranes.
So the allergy-plagued Bavarians have to suffer longer and more and more.
+
Eva Maria Oppel from the allergy outpatient clinic at the LMU clinic in Munich.
© private
Why someone becomes allergic in the first place, however, cannot be foreseen.
It is estimated that around 15 percent of people in Germany are affected.
According to Oppel, allergies arise “multifactorial”.
“It's a mixture of genes and the environment.” Parents who suffer from allergies are prone to exposure; if they grow up in a city polluted with fine dust, the risk is also higher.
Passive smoke is also a big problem, says Oppel - anyone who grows up as a child in a smoker's apartment has very bad cards in terms of allergies.
So what to do when you realize that you could be affected yourself?
The most important step is: “Have a proper diagnosis,” emphasizes Oppel.
"From an allergist." Waiting for the appointment can be made easier with antihistamines from the pharmacy if necessary;
the doctor can then prescribe medication that does not make you tired and works directly on the mucous membranes against the inflammation.
It is important: Under no circumstances use decongestant cold sprays, emphasizes Oppel, "they do not help against the allergy and can make you addicted".
However, all of these measures are just a fight against the symptoms.
"The real treatment is immunotherapy, desensitization," says Oppel.
Anyone who is afraid of injections can now resort to other treatment methods, such as tablets or drops, reports Oppel: "There is now so much possible."
Another help in an emergency are simple everyday rules for allergy sufferers.
First: "Shower in the evening", says Oppel, "or at least wash your face and hair".
Second, do not take off your clothes in the bedroom.
Third: do not ventilate.
At least not when the pollen is flying.
“It usually starts in the very early hours of the morning,” emphasizes Oppel;
The pollen count app offers a more precise overview.
This year, a completely different remedy can help: the mask.
They can reduce the amount of pollen inhaled.
And if you still suffer from red eyes - reaching for sunglasses may help.
