2023-06-04 10:24:17
Watery eyes, sneezing, tiredness and an annoying cough: a quarter of the population suffers from hay fever. Now that it’s peak season for anyone with a pollen allergy, we asked experts what you can do to ease your symptoms.
An important way to prevent hay fever complaints is to know which pollen you are allergic to. If you know that, you can try to avoid them as much as possible. The different species start flowering at different times and places, says biologist Maurice Martens.
Martens is involved as an editor at pollennieuws.nl. For this site he writes the pollen journal, which states where and when which pollen is in the air.
He says that the weather plays an important role in this. “If we have not had a cold autumn and a solid winter, trees and plants will start growing and flowering earlier and you can therefore suffer earlier.”
Know when to grow which pollen
Although May and June are considered high season, you can suffer from pollen from flowering plants for much of the year.
Which pollen you are allergic to depends on your immune system. You can have a test for which pollen you are sensitive to in the hospital or at the GP, says Michael Rutgers, director and general manager of the Lung Fund.
Zo ziet het pollen- en daarmee hooikoortsseizoen eruit
- Om te beginnen start het seizoen met het bloeien van de els en de hazelaar. Dit jaar bloeiden de eerste elzen al in december, nu is het de beurt aan de berk. De verwachting is dat ze dat in ieder geval nog een maand zullen doen. Volgens de bioloog is de berk een belangrijke boomsoort: “In Nederland hebben ongeveer een miljoen mensen last van bloeiende berken. Een behoorlijk aantal als je bedenkt dat verspreid over het jaar een kwart van de bevolking last heeft van hooikoortsklachten.”
- Vanaf begin april en mei begint het gras met groeien en bloeien. “De zon laat zich iets vaker zien en de dagen worden langer. Met de lente begint ook het graspollenseizoen.” Zo’n twee miljoen mensen hebben last van bloeiend gras. Deze periode loopt tot pakweg eind juli begin augustus.
- Tot slot is het de beurt aan de kruiden. Met name bijvoet en alsemambrosia zijn dan de boosdoeners. Deze kruiden kunnen van augustus tot oktober bloeien.
You can outgrow hay fever
“Everyone reacts differently to certain stimuli and allergens,” explains Martens. The biologist adds that hay fever can develop at any time in your life. “You can also grow out of it. Apparently your immune system has learned that it no longer needs to react.”
He compares the allergy to a bucket under a dripping tap. “That bucket slowly drips until it overflows. In the same way you can imagine how an allergy can arise in a human being. After exceeding the level that your body can handle, the allergy suddenly comes out.”
Medication is simply available at the drugstore. It can make you tired, but it will smooth out the symptoms.
Take hay fever pills or use an air purifier
In addition to avoiding pollen, which is of course not possible for everyone, you can take a number of other precautions.
It may seem obvious, but hay fever pills can be effective. Rutgers sees hay fever patients increase their medication when pollen is in the air again. “They are simply available at the drugstore. You can get tired of them, but the symptoms are flattened out.”
He also thinks that people can benefit from an air purifier. “Then the indoor pollen is filtered out of the air.”
Protect your eyes and apply petroleum jelly
Rutgers also points to the relationship between hay fever and lung diseases. “People with asthma often also suffer from hay fever complaints. Those allergies interact with each other. They can take extra puffs to reduce their shortness of breath and calm their lungs.”
What else can you do? An anti-inflammatory nasal spray can help, as can keeping the windows closed on sunny days with a lot of wind.
Martens also recommends smearing petroleum jelly around your nostrils and upper lip. “When inhaling, part of the pollen will stick to the vaseline. It can also be useful to put on large sunglasses to protect your eyes. And of course keep an eye on the pollen journal.”
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