Sneezing, itchy eyes, irritated throat… Pollen allergies are affecting more and more people in France, adults and children, very rarely toddlers. To protect against it, some preventive measures are likely to limit the allergic symptoms.
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If you have been told you are allergic to pollenis that you had a allergic reaction with fine powder fromstamen flowering plants. Allergy to pollencalled pollinosis, is caused by dispersion of pollen in the air. In France, pollen is present in theair almost the whole year, ten months out of twelve. One public health issue given that 20% of children from the age of 9 and 30% of French adults are affected by this type of allergy.
As the pollen is fine, it can be transported over great distances by air. It is also easy to inhale as it comes into contact with your eyes, your mouth and nasal passages. If you are allergic to pollen, you may be affected by pollen from different types of plant species during different seasons of allergy. The trees such as cypress, oak, birch, plane tree… and spring-flowering plants including grasses produce pollen. If you are sensitive to pollen in summer and fallit is very likely that you are affected by theambrosia, also called ragweed, a highly invasive herbaceous plant with a high allergenic potential.
Tips and tricks to protect yourself from pollen allergies
It all starts with information… Regularly consult the pollen bulletins issued by the National Aerobiological Surveillance Network (RNSA), where a pollen vigilance map is regularly updated. You will be able to discover the concentrations of tree and herbaceous pollen for each French department, with the level of allergy risk noted from nil, low… high to very high. Depending on the results, you will be able to better manage your allergies on a daily basis and adapt your treatments in agreement with your doctor.
To protect yourself from pollen allergy, there is also a whole series of measures that can reduce allergic manifestations:
- protect your eyes with goggles Sun ;
- try as much as possible not to rub your eyes;
- refrain from mow your lawn (hey, a good excuse to make others work…);
- ventilate all living rooms in the morning rather than the afternoon;
- if you garden, wear a mask;
- avoid smoking so as not to irritate the mucous membranes already weakened by pollen;
- in carremember to close the Windows ;
- avoid chlorinated swimming pools;
- when you get home, change your clothes and rinse your hair, the pollens settle on the clothes and the body.
- do not dry your laundry outside, especially if it is wind.
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