An increase in spring allergies in children is detected – Health and Medicine

2023-05-01 02:26:08

Younger children, even as young as two years old, are being observed with seasonal allergy symptoms.

Pulmonology specialists warn of a progressive increase in the percentage of children with seasonal allergies and highlight that children present symptoms at increasingly earlier ages.

This has been underlined by the pulmonologist Marina Calvo Fernández, from the IHP Córdoba center, who explained that the age of onset of symptoms is changing. “We are increasingly seeing younger children, even as young as two, already displaying seasonal allergy symptoms.“, Has expressed.

In addition, as the specialist from the Andalusian pediatric group has pointed out, seasonal allergies are more frequent in the child population than in the adult population, reaching 10 percent of allergy sufferers in children between 6 and 7 years of age and 20 percent in under 13 to 14 years old, according to the latest studies.

MITES AND POLLEN, THE MOST COMMON AIRBORNE ALLERGENS

According to Dr. Marina Calvo, in Spain dust mites are the most important pneumoallergens in children. They constitute the main indoor agent that causes allergies, followed by pollens, among which grass stands out, as the most frequent at a national level, and olive tree pollen in the north of Andalusia. Among the child population, allergy to alternaria, a type of fungus, is also very common.

In the case of adults, mites are also the most widespread pneumoallergen and, in recent years, allergy to cypress pollen has become very important. The season of seasonal allergies is expected to be more intense in Seville

The intensity of the seasonal allergy season can vary from year to year depending, to a large extent, on the weather. These affect pollination days and pollen concentrations in the air, increasing on days with the greatest wind and decreasing when there is rainfall. “Another factor that influences the concentration of pollens to stay longer in the air is pollution.“, assured Dr. Calvo Fernández.

As the specialist has explained, according to the first available data on grass concentrations, Seville is the province of Andalusia where this spring is expected to be the most intense for those allergic to pollen, with an estimate of moderate intensity in Córdoba, Huelva and Jaén, slight in Cádiz, Granada and Málaga and very slight in Almería.

Specifically, the season is expected to be moderate in grasses and olive tree pollen. “The pollination of the cypress has been delayed due to the low temperatures from the end of January to March and, currently, the banana tree is reaching high numbers of pollen“, has detailed the IHP Córdoba pulmonologist. L.D.B (SyM)