Vienna: Nature has awoken from her winter sleep. The changeable weather means
that the season has got off to a quiet start. Birch pollen, however, is
almost due to be released and all predictions are that the levels will
be average. Caveat: if the season starts
suddenly, however, the symptoms experienced by sufferers can
nevertheless be very severe.
Allergy sufferers can always
keep an eye on what's happening thanks to the services provided by the
Austrian Pollen Warning Service at the MedUni Vienna. The Pollen App has
made this pollen information mobile and it can be customised to
individual users. Now, the popular service is in its fourth generation
and is more customisable than ever before. For information and a free
download, visit www.pollenwarndienst.at.
The
pollen release by early-flowering alder and hazel trees has so far been
below average. Meantime, they've already passed their peak, the first
ash trees are blossoming and the birch blossom is just around the
corner. "If the spring weather remains stable, birch trees will start
releasing their pollen over the next few days. The volume of pollen will
be average, however," says Katharina Bastl from the Austrian Pollen
Warning Service at the MedUni Vienna, offering an initial outlook on the
situation. However, the symptoms experienced by allergy sufferers can
be severe, especially if the pollen release happens in a sudden burst.
Bastl explains: "If the season begins very suddenly, people feel it more
acutely. If the pollen concentration builds slowly, the body is
obviously able to adjust to the burden better."
Pollen App 4.0: daily pollen count in your area, personal countdown
The
Austrian Pollen Warning Service at the MedUni Vienna has been helping
allergy sufferers through the pollen season for almost four decades. The
information is scientifically researched and presented in a way that is
understandable, is always up to date, free of charge and is now even
tailored to individual users' personal profiles. The Pollen App has made
pollen warnings mobile. The over 140,000 App users are therefore
quickly able to tell where and to what extent "their" allergy triggers
are currently in the air. "A new feature of the App is the detailed
blossoming periods and a countdown until the start of the season," says
Uwe E. Berger, Head of the Pollen Warning Service. "There's information
on the average daily count for the user's current location. The severity
of symptoms that are currently being reported by App users is also
displayed."
To use these personalised services, symptoms need to
be entered regularly into the "pollen diary", which can be accessed
either via the App or at www.pollentagebuch.at. Says Berger: "The more
accurately and more regularly the symptom data is entered, the more
accurately the personal forecast can be calculated."
Escaping the pollen forms the basis of treatment
The
treatment concept for a pollen allergy sounds easy and, in fact, it is:
"Avoiding allergy triggers and teaching the immune system that they're
harmless anyway. If the two happen consistently and early on, symptoms
can be tolerated very quickly or even disappear altogether," says
Reinhart Jarisch from the Floridsdorf Allergy Centre, summing up the
situation. With the Pollen Warning Service, contact with pollen can be
reduced to a tolerable minimum. "Information services such as the
Austrian Pollen Warning Service or the IGAV information platform are
extremely useful for allergy suffers, but also for us as clinicians,
since they create an understanding of allergic conditions and stop
patients coming to their doctors with the wrong information.“
A shot in the arm for specific immunotherapy
Specific
immunotherapy (SIT, also known as allergy vaccinations or
desensitisation therapy) works in a similar way to a vaccine - with one
key difference: it can help sufferers who already have the condition it
is designed to treat. Jarisch explains how: "The allergen causing the
problem is delivered over the course of around three years in the form
of injections, drops or tablets. As the dose is slowly increased, the
body becomes accustomed to it and the immune system learns to tolerate
the allergy trigger again." For pollen allergies, the success rate is
around 80 per cent on average.
Stopping asthma in its tracks ...
A
SIT can also prevent the development of other allergies and the
progression of symptoms from the upper airways into the lungs, and
therefore prevent asthma. "Around a quarter of all patients with
untreated hay fever develop bronchial asthma over time. Asthma can be
very well controlled, but it cannot be cured," explains lung specialist
Felix Wantke, clinical lead at the Floridsdorf Allergy Centre.
... and improving quality of life
Alongside
the impacts on health, the everyday lives of sufferers are also put
under considerable strain. Wantke is well aware of how big the problem
can be: "Sleep quality suffers - and with it the individual's
performance at work or school. But a reduced sense of taste or smell,
frequent inflammations of the sinuses, snoring and even halitosis caused
by increased mouth breathing can be triggered by allergies too."
Activities that are a matter of course for healthy people become a major
struggle for people with allergic rhinitis. Some people find it hard to
climb stairs quickly, for example, and they are restricted in the
amount of gardening or housework they can do. The swollen, red eyes make
many allergy sufferers feel unattractive, making them stay at home more
often, putting them in a bad mood and they are generally less happy.
Wantke
has a request: "At the first signs of a suspected allergy, patients
should see a doctor trained in allergy treatment and have their symptoms
investigated!" Modern diagnostic tools allow the allergy triggers to be
tracked down quickly. Effective treatment with specific immunotherapy
can protect against unpleasant symptoms and the far-reaching
consequences of allergic illnesses.
Link tips:
www.pollenwarndienst.at – Pollen count and personalised symptom forecasts, Pollen App download etc.
www.allergenvermeidung.org – Information platform for allergy sufferers. Visit the new website now!