ENT physician at Amsterdam UMC: “Climate change causing shifts in pollen levels”
Hay fever season came early this year. Due to mild temperatures, birch trees and other spring plants are blooming earlier than expected, to the dismay of hay fever sufferers. Is this a result of climate change? And what can you do about it? “It’s often a matter of a nasal spray or a tablet.”
Due to erratic weather with some nice spring-like days here and there, many plants are already in bloom. That includes the birch tree, one of the major culprits for many hay fever sufferers. About one in five Dutch suffer from hay fever. Pollen from trees, grasses, and herbs triggers an allergic reaction causing sneezing fits, irritated eyes, and a runny nose. It also costs Dutch society nearly 20 billion dollars in reduced labor productivity.
Climate change
The early flowering of birch trees and other plants raises the question of whether this is related to global warming and whether we should start taking into account a regularly occurring earlier hay fever season. UvA biologist Gerard Oostermeijer thinks so. “The winters are becoming much milder, so it gets warmer earlier in the year and everything blooms earlier. So climate change definitely plays a role in an earlier pollen season.”
Sietze Reitsma, an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) physician at the Amsterdam UMC clinic, also sees this. “Due to the increasingly milder climate, we see that the traditional pollen calendars, i.e., schedules on which the flowering season of plants can easily be seen, are being called into question. According to those standard schedules, not only the birch but also the alder and hazel bloomed much too early this year, causing people with hay fever to begin suffering earlier.”
Because flowering periods are less predictable due to the changing climate, it is also becoming increasingly difficult to say exactly what pollen hay fever sufferers are allergic to. “We are used to having a well-defined flowering season for certain types of plants,” says Reitsma. “But because some species start flowering at relatively odd times, we have to deal with staggered pollen exposures which also makes interpreting the allergy based on existing pollen calendars more uncertain. So now you will have to go to the family doctor to determine exactly what pollen you are allergic to.”
What can be done about this?
“The medicine cabinet can be replenished a little earlier. Besides the well-known antihistamines, there are also anti-inflammatory nasal sprays to relieve hay fever symptoms.” What else can you do? “The first step is always to avoid the allergen, the pollen, as much as possible. Close the windows, put on sunglasses when you go outside, and don't hang your laundry outside to dry,” advises Reitsma.
“Besides symptom relief, you can also get rid of hay fever through immunotherapy,” says Reitsma. “With immunotherapy, we can reprogram the body, as it were. For reasons still unknown, it has learned to regard certain types of pollen as harmful. By regularly exposing the body to a small amount of that pollen, we see that the immune system begins to accept it and the allergic reaction ceases.”
It is also important for people with hay fever symptoms to see their family doctor in time, Reitsma believes. “Besides the complaints of a runny nose, irritated eyes, and a nasal drip, it is also very tiring. In the Netherlands, the common wisdom is that somehow a runny nose is part of life, so you don’t talk about it or go to the doctor. But you shouldn't feel that you are faking it. It’s an illness that you suffer from, and you can do something about it. So go to your doctor, get tested occasionally, and if you have hay fever, get it treated. It’s often a matter of a nasal spray or a tablet.”
