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Asthma alarm More and more aggressive pollen in German cities
In the future, asthmatics and allergy sufferers will have to reckon with ever more aggressive pollen. According to a message from the news agency "dpa" experts warn on the occasion of today's World Asthma Day (May 2). As a result of global warming, the pollen season is becoming increasingly longer and more intense, which means that in the future more and more people would suffer from allergies and bronchial asthma.
Obama reports aha-experience
Shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and constant coughing: people with asthma and allergies know these symptoms only too well and many experience the complaints from year to year more and more. Even Barack Obama had reported at times as US President, as an asthma attack of his then four-year-old daughter Malia has caused terrible fears. "Dad, I can barely breathe," the child reported accordingly and had to be admitted to the emergency room - the ex-president himself had in this situation, a kind of "aha" experience in the context of climate change, it is said in the Message from the "dpa".
The number of asthmatics and pollen allergy sufferers could increase in the view of many experts in the coming years extremely. (Image: Africa Studio / fotolia.com) Improved plant growth through global warming
Now, experts in this country warn on the occasion of today (2 May) held World Asthma Day from increasing exposure to pollen. From the experts' point of view, these are the first signs of global warming, as it has a positive effect on plant growth. "There are very clear data: In the past 30 years, the pollen season in Germany has been significantly extended. But it has also become more intense, "explains the Head of the Allergy Center of the Berlin Charité, Torsten Zuberbier, according to the" dpa ".
Breathing difficulty and cough are getting worse
Many allergic and asthmatic people are already experiencing the first consequences of this development. "Patients tell us that their symptoms are getting worse every year," said Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, director of the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and TU Munich.
With a pollen allergy and hay fever, the upper respiratory tract is affected, which can cause, among other things, itchy eyes, swollen eyelids, allergic conjunctivitis and persistent colds.
In asthmatics, however, there is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the lower respiratory tract. Typical symptoms include constant coughing (especially at night), shortness of breath, shortness of breath and a whistling sound when exhaling.
Every tenth child under the age of 15 affected
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin, just under 15 percent of people over the age of 18 have hay fever in this country and just under nine percent suffer from bronchial asthma. According to the Pulmonary Information Service at Helmholtz Zentrum München, asthma is the most common chronic disease in children and adolescents. About 10 percent of all children under the age of 15 are affected in Germany, with the disease occurring in most cases (70%) before the age of five breaks out, so the information.
Children are therefore at particularly high risk for respiratory diseases. "But what is also dramatic is that we now see an increase in eczema and allergies among older people over the age of 70," says Traidl-Hoffmann. It would just those who have never had to do with it, get an increased allergy in old age, explains the expert.
Plants on roads fertilized with CO2
But how can this development be explained? From the perspective of the experts, on the one hand, a changed lifestyle (for example, less exercise in the fresh air) leads to increased susceptibility. In addition, people are exposed to changing environmental conditions as a result of climate change. Finally, several factors together would make pollen stronger and more irritating than before.
"Pollens that are formed in the urban area near major roads are filled with diesel particulates and thus indirectly more aggressive for the respiratory tract," says Torsten Zuberbier. This could also cause allergies, adds the expert. Another factor is plants such as grasses and herbs that grow, for example, on major roads where they are exposed to a lot of CO2. Because these would be literally "fertilized" with the gas and subsequently emit more pollen.
Stronger complaints and more affected
What this can mean for the future is shown by studies such as those of Traidl-Hoffmann, who with her colleagues exposed plants in greenhouses to expectable conditions. "Under drought stress, ozone, CO2 and nitric oxide pollution, plants release more allergens, which in turn leads to more symptoms. But all sensory-stimulating substances also release the plant under these climatic stress conditions, "according to the results of the research.
According to the experts, changes in the climate for people suffering from hay fever and asthma could mean that they suffer from ailments all year round. In addition, a further increase in pollen allergies is assumed.
Individuals who are allergic to ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) could, according to experts, experience a massive increase in those affected. Scientists from European universities came to this conclusion by extrapolating the number of ambrosia allergy sufferers in Europe to more than double by the year 2060. It is therefore possible that up to 77 million people could be affected, with Germany probably one of the countries with the largest increase, according to the experts in the journal "Environmental Health Perspectives". (No)