SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 12 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The most frequent pollens in the Canary Islands are artemisia, grasses and parietaria, according to data from the Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC), which indicates that allergic diseases caused by pollens affect more than eight million people in Spain, seven of which are allergic to grasses followed in decreasing order by allergies to olive trees, arizonica, shade banana, salsola and parietaria.
From the University Hospital of the Canary Islands (HUC) they detail in a note that there is a direct relationship between some climatological factors of autumn and winter, such as rainfall, temperature and humidity and the counts of grass pollens during spring.
Thanks to the collection of data from the 62 aerobiological stations of the SEAIC Aerobiology Committee, together with the climatological factors provided by the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) and with the collaboration of the Department of Statistics and Operational Research of the University of Castilla La Mancha, the level of intensity for this spring is established for allergic patients in different geographical areas.
According to Dr. Paloma Poza Guedes, an allergist at the HUC and a member of the SEAIC board of directors, “it is estimated that this year spring in the Canary Islands will see grass levels below 300 grains per cubic meter”, and she recalls that the evolution can be consulted weekly on the free SEAIC website.
“The great geographic variability of the Canary Islands influences the flora, which has a direct impact on the type of pollens that are most frequent in each area, offering differences not only according to the island, but even according to the slope and orientation of each one,” he points out. .
This year, due to the lack of rain in autumn and winter, it is expected that this spring will have lower pollen levels than usual in general, which will contribute to a decrease in allergic symptoms in patients compared to other years.
However, Poza reminds that “in some cases there are pollens that can be locally higher than expected”, so he recommends that patients consult their allergist individually.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLLUTION
Climate change is a reality that currently no longer seems questionable and one of its multiple effects is the increase in allergic diseases due to pollens due to three circumstances: the increase in concentration, a longer exposure time and, finally, a greater aggressiveness of these, comment from the HUC.
The increase in temperature caused by climate change, together with greenhouse gases such as CO2, have been shown to act as a fertilizer for plants, contributing to an increase in pollen production.
In addition, chemical contaminants alter the structure of the pollen causing it to generate so-called ‘stress’ proteins as a defense mechanism, and as a consequence, the aggressiveness of the pollens increases.
These stress proteins increase the aggressiveness of pollen in cities and in populations living near highways compared to pollens from rural areas without pollution.
For this reason, in cities it is observed that there are more cases of allergy despite the fact that the concentration of pollens is lower than in the countryside.
The high levels of pollution in cities favor the phenomenon of thermal inversion that prevents pollens from leaving the atmosphere, which increases the time the urban population is exposed to them.
RAIN EFFECTS
This winter has been the second driest in Spain in the last 60 years –only after the winter of 2012– and only 98 liters were recorded.
In addition, it was preceded by a dry autumn and it has been shown that there is a direct relationship between pollen concentrations during spring with meteorological factors such as rainfall and temperature in the previous months of autumn and winter.
Rain affects pollen concentrations in two ways: one beneficial for allergy sufferers and the other detrimental.
In the short term, the rain moistens the pollens that are floating in the atmosphere, increasing their weight and favoring their deposit on the ground, preventing them from penetrating the respiratory tract, which reduces the symptoms of allergic patients when it is raining.
Thus, there is therefore a sudden drop in the level of airborne pollens at that time, which improves the exposure of patients and therefore the symptoms.
However, in the long term, precipitation favors the growth of all plants, especially grasses, which contributes to further development and an increase in the production of grass pollens in the following weeks or months, and at the time of the bloom will be dispersed through the atmosphere, and as a consequence, allergy sufferers will experience an increase in their symptoms later.
In this sense, this year the lack of rain and the high temperatures in winter have favored the sustained presence in the atmosphere of the earliest pollens such as cupresaceae, cypresses and arizonicas, with very high levels in many cities in Spain, such as Madrid, Granada, Jaén, Córdoba, Talavera de la Reina or Toledo.
However, the appearance of rains in the following months has favored the growth of grasses, whose levels will depend on how often they are maintained during spring.
IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT OF ALLERGY FROM CHILDHOOD
Allergic diseases are also very common in children and at increasingly younger ages.
The Allergology study carried out by the SEAIC in 2015 reveals that the first reason for consultation in children under 14 years of age and for which the allergist is most frequently consulted is rhinitis (33% of cases) followed by conjunctivitis (23%). and asthma (17%).
In addition, it was shown that with respect to the Allergology study of 2005, the number of consultations for this reason had increased more than that suggested in other European countries.
According to Dr. Poza, “accurate and early diagnosis not only improves the control and treatment of the disease, but also improves the prognosis and avoids associated complications.”
Respiratory allergy, both rhinitis and asthma, are chronic diseases with a high impact on the patient’s quality of life, causing a high percentage of school absences and sick leave.
Its proper management by the specialist in Allergology can prevent it with therapeutic tools that are available today, both in the form of drugs and allergy vaccines.
The efficacy and safety of this type of therapy has evolved very significantly in recent decades, and is currently used both in children and in pregnant women or the elderly.
