Hay fever Birch pollen spares allergic people over Easter

Increased birch pollen flight expected in April
The hay fever season is already in progress and with the onset of birch pollen, allergy sufferers expect increasing complaints. Even though the temporary cold spells caused a slight delay here, birch blossom sets in on the Easter weekend, according to the German Pollen Information Service (PID). However, the burden in the coming days is initially still in line. Experts expect an increased birch pollen count only in April.

In pollen allergy patients or hay fever patients, the aggressive birch pollen often lead to particularly severe complaints. In addition, it was expected in view of the mild winter with a particularly early onset of birch pollen. However, the cold spells of recent weeks have resulted in a delay in the growth phase. This coming weekend, the birch blossom is about to begin. With increased pollen count is expected in the first week of April, reported the meteorologist Thomas Dümmel of the Free University (FU) Berlin to the news agency dpa.

Due to the cold spells in recent weeks, the onset of birch pollen has been slightly delayed, so that allergy sufferers are still spared over Easter. (Image: miamariam / fotolia.com)

Wake up call on the Easter weekend
"Although the weather is expected to be friendlier on the weekend (...), we expect the first birch pollen at the earliest in the first week of April", Thomas Dümmel is quoted by dpa. According to the expert, birch pollen needs sunny weather with temperatures of 15 degrees or more over several days, before releasing pollen on the next heat. However, the first wake-up call is already expected on the Easter weekend.

Particularly strong birch pollen flight expected
Although the allergic people are initially allowed a breather over Easter, but then expects them in the opinion of PID a particularly strong pollen count. The burden of birch pollen is expected to be significantly higher in many regions of Germany this year than in 2015, according to the experts on the basis of their data analysis of the pollen count of the past 15 years. Because every two years the birches naturally release significantly more pollen.

Hay fever is one of the most common allergic diseases
According to the Robert Koch Institute, hay fever is one of the most common allergic diseases among children and adolescents as well as adults. "Affected persons show an allergic inflammatory response the nose (allergic rhinitis) in contact with certain pollen. Possible symptoms include itching of the eyes (due to allergic conjunctivitis), sneezing attacks, runny nose, difficult nasal breathing, as well as a general feeling of sickness with weakness, fatigue, and beating-up, reports the RKI. In 12.6 percent of children and adolescents have been diagnosed in her life before a medical hay-snuff diagnosis and in adults, the prevalence of a ever-diagnosed diuretic hay-snuff in 16.5% of women and 13.0% of men. "

Have symptoms cleared up by a doctor
People without hay fever diagnoses who develop these symptoms in the coming weeks should, according to Professor Dr. med. med. Karl-Christian Bergmann, head of the PID and expert of the European Foundation for Allergy Research (ECARF), to have a medical examination to clarify the suspicion of an allergy. Because a pollen allergy may require therapeutic measures to prevent the imminent development of asthma. (Fp)