Why are more and more people allergic to pollen?

1024, 1186, 1720, 1466, 2386, 1362... These figures are the pollen counts per thousand square millimeters in Beijing from April 5 to 10, far exceeding the critical value (801) representing an extremely high level of pollen concentration level 6.

Since entering April, the pollen concentration in Beijing has remained high. According to the Beijing Meteorological Observatory's monitoring and forecast on April 11, the pollen concentration in Beijing will remain at a relatively high level for the next seven consecutive days, and the pollen concentration in ten districts including Dongcheng and Xicheng has repeatedly "exploded" to an extremely high level of level 6. At the same time, from April 10 to 15, the willow catkins in Beijing also ushered in the first high incidence period this year.

With extremely high pollen concentrations and frequent willow catkins, many people have lost their battle against allergic symptoms. Why are more and more people suffering from allergies? What causes allergies? What are the symptoms of pollen allergies in spring? Can they be prevented or treated? The reporter interviewed relevant experts on this.

More and more people are allergic

Frequent consumption of high-calorie, low-fiber fast food and an overly clean living environment will cause allergic people to develop symptoms when allergens accumulate to a certain level.

Originally, allergies seemed to affect only a few people, but in recent years, we generally feel that more and more people around us are suffering from allergies. Many patients never knew what pollen allergies were before, but suddenly developed symptoms in recent years.

"Most people have an inherent allergic predisposition, but why don't they develop the disease?" Guan Kai, deputy chief physician of the Department of Allergy at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, explained that allergies are mainly determined by several factors. One is related to lifestyle habits, such as frequent consumption of high-calorie, low-fiber fast food, or an overly clean living environment. Another is the presence of enough allergens. When the accumulation of allergens reaches a certain level, people with varying degrees of allergic constitution will gradually develop allergies. "In other words, as long as there are enough allergens, these people with allergic constitutions will develop the disease one after another, even if they have never had this allergic symptom before."

Guan Kai believes that in the past two or three decades, the living standards of ordinary people have improved significantly, and the modern lifestyle is too clean and hygienic, which makes people more susceptible to allergies. At the same time, the greening in the living environment has been improved, and the species we come into contact with are becoming more and more abundant. "In the process of adapting to such a living environment, our immune system has become biased, and we have also produced a super immune response to harmless substances such as pollen. Therefore, under the increasing exposure to allergens, some people with allergic constitutions have successively become ill, causing minor or serious pain to the body."

Of course, there are also environmental factors. Sun Jinju, deputy director and chief physician of the Department of Allergy at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, explained that if the plant species in a local area are unbalanced, the pollen concentration of one or several types of plants is high, or the pollen particles are combined with haze particles, it is easier to induce and aggravate allergies.

Who is the culprit for allergies?

Cypress, birch, sycamore, ash, and ailanthus rely on wind to spread pollen and are important regional allergens. Poplar and willow catkins are blamed for wind-borne pollen.

So, which pollens are likely to cause allergies? In northern my country, the tree pollens that are most likely to cause allergies in spring mainly come from cypress, birch, sycamore, ash, and ailanthus.

Guan Kai introduced that with the arrival of spring, many trees need to rely on the wind to spread a large amount of pollen (male reproductive cells) for pollination. These wind-borne pollens are spread through the air and are inevitably inhaled into our bodies. Normal people do not feel anything when they inhale wind-borne pollens, but for patients with allergic constitutions, they will produce a strong and excessive immune response. For example, pollen adheres to the respiratory mucosa and conjunctiva of the eyes, causing mild or severe inflammatory reactions, and then allergic symptoms appear.

Therefore, in spring, many patients will continue to have symptoms of sneezing, runny nose, coughing or asthma, and are prone to allergic rashes on the face, eyelid edema, and even food allergies from plants. If these symptoms occur periodically every spring, it indicates that there are regional allergens in this season, and an important part of them is wind-borne pollen.

In addition, the willow catkins that can be seen everywhere in the northern region in this season are also considered to be allergens, but in fact they may not be. There have been media reports before that willow catkins are not allergens themselves, but are just a "blame" for wind-borne pollen, which is more allergenic. Because when the catkins are flying all over the sky, it is the time when trees such as sycamores are blooming, and the overlap of the two times leads to people's misjudgment.

How to treat allergies

Corresponding preventive measures should be taken according to the different pollen spreading times; allergen-specific immunotherapy should be carried out during the period of rapid development of allergic symptoms

How to prevent or treat pollen allergies? Guan Kai recommends that patients with allergic symptoms in spring go to a hospital with an allergy department, or a respiratory department or an otolaryngology department with an allergy professional group. The main purpose is to identify the allergens. "If it is indeed a pollen allergy, you can take corresponding preventive measures according to the different pollen dispersal times. For example, wear anti-pollen glasses or masks outdoors, wash your hair and clothes in time after returning home to remove the pollen; if you go out and take public transportation, close the doors and windows to prevent sneezing, itchy eyes and affected vision caused by inhaling pollen, which may lead to accidents such as loss of control of the driver."

Sun Jinju also suggested that, given the large number of birch and cypress trees in the north, northern patients who are allergic to pollen can, if conditions permit, travel to the south on business trips or move to another city during the corresponding season; their symptoms may be significantly alleviated or disappear.

If the above methods are not effective, you should use corresponding anti-allergic drugs under the guidance of a doctor to control the symptoms. Sun Jinju said that antihistamines should be used to symptomatically treat allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis. For patients with more severe symptoms, glucocorticoid nasal sprays can be used to treat allergic rhinitis.

"If the doctor assesses that the patient's allergic condition is in a rapid development stage, asthma may occur, or even be combined with certain plant-derived food allergies." For such patients, Guan Kai recommends allergen-specific immunotherapy, i.e. desensitization therapy - gradually injecting allergens into the patient's body from small amounts to large amounts, so that the body can re-recognize allergens, thereby achieving a radical cure for allergen tolerance. (Xu Chang)