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The hazel already blooms in the spring months: Since 2018, its pollen has been appearing in ever greater quantities
Photo: EThamPhoto / The Image Bank RF / Getty Images
It's starting again: the nose is running, the eyes are itching - the pollen season is just around the corner.
And according to the European Center for Allergy Research Foundation (ECARF), it is starting earlier and changing in a worrying way. For millions of people in Germany, the tree and grass pollen are becoming torture.
About 30 percent of all people in Europe have an allergy, the most common allergic disease is hay fever.
But despite the great suffering that can accompany allergic diseases, treatment is often neglected.
According to ECARF, the economic damage that could be avoided through adequate therapy and prevention of allergies amounts to 100 billion euros per year in the EU.
According to this, only every tenth person affected uses the possibilities offered by modern allergy medicine.
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There has been a worrying development in pollen allergies in particular in recent years, as reported by ECARF together with the German Pollen Information Service Foundation (PID) on Tuesday at a press conference.
Hazelnut pollen has been on the rise since 2018.
In 2022, birch pollen would also have increased compared to previous years.
Besides grass pollen, birch pollen causes most cases of hay fever and allergic asthma.
According to the PID, grass pollen also reached a new high last year.
Especially in big cities, more people are suffering from allergic diseases related to pollen.
There are many reasons for this: According to a new study, air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter are a significant problem.
For example, they change the chemical structure of birch pollen allergens – and thus lead to a higher rate of sensitization.
Consistent therapy is crucial
But not only the chemical changes in the pollen are problematic.
The inflammation of the mucous membranes caused by the pollen can also be negatively influenced by pollutants.
Symptoms such as itching, redness of the eyes or asthma can be aggravated in this way.
According to ECARF, in addition to the pollutants, global warming is also leading to new challenges.
The end of the last pollen season almost overlaps with the beginning of the new season.
According to this, pollen from grasses and herbs continues to fly well into autumn, while certain trees begin to flower earlier and earlier.
An example is the current pollen season, which began in the southwest on the first day of the year with high concentrations of hazel pollen, for example.
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In view of this development, the experts at the Pollen Information Service Foundation recommend »allergy-friendly« planting in cities, avoiding plants with a high allergy potential.
The concentration of pollen in the air has been monitored in Germany since 1983 by the measuring stations in the PID network.
Corresponding data are important for the daily graphic pollen load forecast by the German Weather Service, which doctors and those affected can use to obtain important information about the pollen count in their region.
In addition to avoiding contact with pollen, the correct diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases such as hay fever is particularly important.
Despite their spread, allergies are still often played down, as Torsten Zuberbier emphasizes.
Zuberbier is ECARF Foundation Chairman and Director of the Institute for Allergy Research at the Berlin Charité.
“However, allergies can now be treated very well. In most cases, modern medication can be used to alleviate the symptoms,” says Zuberbier.
In addition, it is possible to include non-drug strategies in the treatment concept.
These included certain air purifiers that remove pollen and fine dust from the air, as well as modern apps.
Above all, education about good prevention and treatment of allergic diseases is important to Zuberbier.
For this purpose, an ECARF initiative is aimed specifically at schools.
"A child who is doing poorly at school because of untreated hay fever or because of his untreated asthma cannot take part in physical education classes - that should no longer exist," says Zuberbier.
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