Pollen allergy: symptoms and treatment

A pollen allergy is an allergy to the pollen of certain plants, which can vary widely. An allergy sufferer can react to trees, bushes, grasses, cereals or herbs. As soon as these come into contact with the mucous membranes in the eyes or nose, this leads to an allergic reaction. Around 16% of the population in Germany are affected, making pollen allergy the most widespread allergy. A small consolation: The little ones are usually spared, since hay fever only occurs from the age of three or four. During the flowering period, 4000-8000 pollen fly through the air every day. That is an enormous amount when you consider that an allergy sufferer already reacts to 40-50 pollen with the specific symptoms!

What is pollen allergy?

A pollen allergy is a high sensitivity to pollen or grasses. Pollen is the reproductive cells of seed plants, released by the plant and carried to other plants by the wind or an insect. In favorable weather conditions, the pollen fly up to 400 kilometers away!
Strongly scented and blooming flowers are less relevant for allergy sufferers because their pollen is transmitted by insects. They are quite heavy and don’t float in the air, but fall straight to the ground.

symptoms

A pollen allergy shows itself with an immediate reaction, i.e. the symptoms appear after just a few minutes. The pollen allergy is seasonal, so the symptoms only appear during the flowering period – i.e. in spring and summer. If hay fever is not treated, asthma develops in around 40 percent of patients.

• Watery, itchy eyes
• Runny nose, stuffy nose
• shortness of breath
• Flu-like symptoms
• Exhaustion, headache, skin eczema
• If the disease travels from the upper to the lower airways, i.e. the bronchi, it can lead to allergic asthma. This is known as changing floors. About a third of those affected suffer from it.
• Food allergies can also occur if your child suffers from a pollen allergy. This is called pollen-induced food allergy. For example, birch pollen allergy sufferers cannot tolerate raw apples. This is because birch pollen and apple have a similar biochemical structure. The immune system sees the two substances as similar and fights them in the same way. So caution is advised here.

Test for pollen allergy

If you suspect an allergy, you should take your child to the doctor immediately. He first takes an anamnesis, which means he asks you in detail about the symptoms your child is showing. If they occur at the same time every year, the condition worsens in windy weather and from 8 a.m. to noon, the eyes itch, and your child feels better on rainy days, a pollen allergy is suspected. Appropriate tests are carried out after this step. We have put them together for you here:

The skin prick test

The skin prick test is a standard test. It is usually used from the age of about two years. Allergens are injected into the skin layer by rubbing, pricking, scratching or squirting on the forearm. After about 30 minutes, you can see from the skin reaction whether you are sensitive to the substance in question. Redness and wheal formation may occur.

The blood test

This test method detects antibodies against certain pollutants in the blood. A small amount of blood is taken, which is examined for its contents. A blood test can be performed as early as infancy.

Treat pollen allergy

allergen avoidance

It makes the most sense to avoid pollen as much as possible. This is known as allergen avoidance . However, this is almost impossible to implement in practice, since the pollen travels very long distances in the air and thus flies everywhere. In the heyday it makes sense to plan a holiday in the high mountains, in the coastal regions or on an island.

medication

If your child suffers greatly from the allergy, you can have it treated with medication. There are special medications such as antihistamines and locally acting medicines such as antiallergic eye drops on the market that can help your child. They block the effect of the messenger substance histamine and thus the annoying itching. Cortisone reduces the inflammatory response in the body. If it is only applied locally for a short time, no side effects are usually to be expected these days. However, these drugs only relieve the symptoms in the short term, the allergy itself persists. The course of the disease is not influenced in the long term.
Note: No matter what type of medication is involved, you should definitely consult your doctor beforehand.

allergy vaccination

Another variant for particularly difficult cases is immunotherapy. It is also referred to as hyposensitization . Here, the cause of the allergy and not just its symptoms is combated. In this therapy, the allergen is injected under the skin or administered in the form of drops over a period of three years. Every week at first, then monthly. This therapy creates a habituation effect, so that the body gets used to the allergen and the allergic symptoms disappear in most cases. This method is extremely promising, even more so with younger people and children than with adults. Immunotherapy is recommended for children over the age of five. However, it is important to know that no anti-allergic medication should be taken during the three-year treatment period.

Helpful tips

A pollen allergy restricts everyday life, especially during the flowering period. So that your child can still enjoy spring, it should adhere to the following points. The list may seem long at first glance, but this is the only way your child can lead a normal life without medication.

• A lot of exercise prevents: Studies have shown that children who exercise a lot get hay fever 50% less than children who rarely exercise. Why don’t you take your child on a bike trip or sign them up for a sports club?
• Avoid endangered areas: Find out about the pollen count on the Internet, in the daily newspaper or on the radio. Try to avoid the vulnerable areas.
• Limit outdoor activities: Make sure that your child spends as little time outdoors as possible with an existing illness or does not exert themselves too much outdoors, as more pollen gets into the airways due to the stronger breathing.
• Ventilate: If you live in the country, you should ventilate in the evening as the pollen concentration is lower then. If you live in the city, it’s exactly the opposite: The best time to ventilate here is in the morning.
• Only drive with the car windows closed: Your car should have a pollen filter in the ventilation system. It is best to drive with the windows closed.
• Room hygiene is very important: It is best to wipe with a damp cloth several times a week and use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. Change this at least every 14 days.
• Daily hygiene: Wash your child’s hair every evening if possible and do not change their street clothes in the bedroom. This way you can be sure that your child is not exposed to the pollen in his room.
• Drying laundry: Only hang your child’s laundry to dry indoors. So it cannot catch any pollen floating in the air.
• The bed: Buy special allergy-free mattresses, blankets and pillows. You should inform yourself better when buying, the quality of the covers offered is not always the same.
• Your child’s room: Avoid dust collectors in your child’s room and put pollen filters in front of the windows.
• Rinsing the nose relieves the symptoms: Rinsing the nose with salt water soothes the mucous membranes. To do this, dissolve a teaspoon of table salt in lukewarm water and let your child sniff the solution. This rinses out the pollen, disinfects the nasal mucosa and strengthens it against pollen.
• Steam inhalation lets your child breathe properly again: Inhalation with dill or fennel oil makes sense for congested bronchi. To do this, drip four to six drops of oil into three liters of boiling water and let your child inhale the vapors through their mouth and nose for ten minutes.
• A healthy diet is important: A diet rich in vitamins is important, especially vitamin C. Put peppers, tomatoes and citrus fruits on your child’s menu to strengthen their immune system. A lot of liquid is also important, so make sure that the mineral water has a high magnesium content.
• Be careful with fruit and vegetables: many people who are allergic to pollen develop a cross-allergy to botanically related foods.
• Garden maintenance: If you have a garden, keep the lawn as short as possible. This will prevent it from flowering and producing pollen. People who are allergic to pollen should not mow the lawn themselves, as the plant sap contains allergens similar to pollen.
• No smoke: Make sure your child grows up in a smoke-free environment. This is how you protect your airways.
• No honey: Your child should avoid honey as it contains a large amount of pollen.
• Staying outdoors: It is better to take your child for a walk in deciduous than in coniferous forests, as the leaves filter some of the pollen from the air. Avoid busy roads during the pollen season, as the pollen – mixed with exhaust fumes and soot particles – has a more aggressive effect.
• Special creams provide relief for your child: rub Vaseline or nasal ointment with the active ingredient dexpanthenol into the nasal mucosa every day to reduce the intake of pollen in the air you breathe.