Many allergy sufferers have already noticed: the 2023 pollen season has got off to a difficult start. A premature start was already seen in January – with an “acceptable continuation”, as experts emphasized at a press conference. What started with significant strength about a month earlier than the long-term average is unlikely to continue with birch and ash.
For allergy sufferers, however, it’s not quite clear yet – new phenomena such as “thunderstorm asthma”, which is more common in Australia, pose an additional challenge. “Many allergens are produced more and more when plants are under stress,” says Barbara Bohle. , head of the Institute for Pathophysiology and Allergy Research at the Medical University of Vienna. “Stress” can be caused by heat, drought, competition for food and increased exposure to environmental pollutants such as ozone, sulfur and nitrogen oxides.
Climate change can upset plants
Even if a “rather mild season” is expected in principle, the intensity of the load cannot yet be predicted, it said. One reason: Climate change can “confuse” plants. But there are also questionable points for allergy sufferers: all aspects of the Covid crisis, from Long Covid to wearing protective masks and spending more time within your own four walls, are factors that have not yet been specifically assessed. fact that More pets, especially during lockdown, can have a significant impact on the frequency of allergies. However, so far there is hardly any data on this.
Hazel and alder bloomed in the east as early as January
“Last winter was one of the winters that were clearly too mild in recent decades,” says Harald Seidl from GeoSphere Austria (formerly ZAMG). “The sixth warmest in the 256-year measurement history was recorded in the lowlands.” Ideal for plants that release their pollen very early. “As early as January this year, hazels and alders started blooming in the east,” added Uwe E. Berger, head of the Austrian pollen warning service at MedUni Vienna. Means: Many allergy sufferers were caught unprepared – the first symptoms this year were as remarkable as their intensity.
“Knowing and avoiding risk factors and adhering to allergy and asthma treatment is crucial for the prevention of thunderstorm-related asthma,” exclaims lung specialist Felix Wantke, head of the Floridsdorf Allergy Center in Vienna (FAZ).
“Thunderstorm asthma” can affect people who are otherwise symptom-free
During a thunderstorm with a sudden drop in temperature and high humidity, there is also a sudden increase in pollen concentration and ozone pollution. The so-called “thunderstorm asthma”, which often affects people who are completely symptom-free, is still rare in our latitudes – but is increasingly observed in Australian cities. Pollen swells — and bursts — during a summer thunderstorm that should lighten it up. In addition, a large amount of allergens is released, which means a high risk of asthma attacks. In addition: if there is no night cooling, the quality of sleep deteriorates, the organism cannot recover sufficiently – and it becomes more vulnerable.
On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, the free pollen app of the Austrian Pollen Alert Service was further developed and new services such as ‘Asthma Weather’ were added. “The ‘thunderstorm warning’ indicates when thunderstorms are expected in the area and whether the ozone concentration will rise. In addition, there is the advice to stay indoors and get medicines in time,” says Markus Berger, medical officer of the Austrian pollen warning service.
Source: Krone
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