Pollen at increased level in atmosphere for this time of year
IT’S BAD news for allergy sufferers across the island as due to recent climate fluctuations, experts say there is an increased amount of pollen in the air.
The unusually warm weather at the beginning of the week brought pollen levels much higher than normal for this time of year.
Allergist Dr Andreas Liveris yesterday told Phileleftheros newspaper that the sudden temperature increase made matters worse for allergy sufferers.
According to Liveris, the current period will affect those who are allergic to cypress pollen and wild grain, while he warned that olive tree pollen would be rife soon, which is much more aggressive and causes bigger problems due to the intense symptoms it invokes.
Allergies can be managed effectively with medication or immunotherapy but they can’t be cured, and although not normally life-threatening, they alter the sufferer’s quality of life.
Allergic rhinitis is the most common form of seasonal allergy with symptoms such as a runny nose, itchy and runny eyes, and sneezing.
But Liveris said that some sufferers of the specific allergy also show mild symptoms of asthma, which usually goes undetected so he urged them to ask to be examined.
According to the World Health Organisation, although the condition can be treated with oral antihistamines, it can also be managed by avoiding areas where the allergen is rife or by immunotherapy.
The use of oral antihistamines had long been limited due to their sedating side effects; however the new generation of the specific medication is considered extremely safe.
Around 25 per cent of the island’s population (200,000 Cypriots) suffer from some type of allergy while, as the problem is getting progressively worse, by 2015, one in two Europeans is expected to suffer from at least one form of allergy.
Allergy, which is an exaggerated reaction by the immune system to an allergen such as pollen, has developed into a major health concern in Europe with over 80 million people affected by some form of allergic disease and around 30 million people suffering from asthma.
According to the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN), allergic diseases are still underestimated, under-diagnosed and often do not receive adequate treatment.
“Allergy and asthma are global diseases not only because they are rapidly developing all over the world but also because they affect the body as a whole,” says the network.
Different types of allergic disorders include allergic rhinitis, hay fever, asthma, atopic dermatitis, eczema and other skin complaints, conjunctivitis, irritation of the eye, food and drug hypersensitivities and anaphylactic shock.
