Vienna (OTS) – Due to climatic changes, the flowering of allergy-relevant plants begins earlier and earlier, ends later and sometimes becomes more intense. The services of the Austrian Pollen Information Service have been an important companion through the pollen season for allergy sufferers for many years. The club’s website has now been rebuilt and even more personalized. The new landing page www.allergie.at, a cooperation with the patient platform IGAV – Allergen Avoidance Interest Group, gives allergy sufferers access to important information.
“The pollen season so far has been a rollercoaster of stress”
says Dr. Markus Berger, head of the Austrian Pollen Information Service. “The hazel began to bloom at the end of January/beginning of February, followed by the alder, which dusted until the beginning of March. The alder pollen season was average, but there were exceptionally high peaks followed by low pollen counts.” The ash tree made a record-breaking early start. Berger: “Due to the mild temperatures, we also expect the birch to start early – from today’s perspective in the third week of March. Allergy sufferers must expect average to severe exposure.”
This is followed by the flowering of the grasses, which is expected to be similar to last year. Mugwort and ragweed bloom from late summer to autumn and close the pollen season – just before the purple alder disrupts the Christmas peace in December. “The causes of more and more days with stressful pollen counts are related to ‘global warming’”
, explains Mag. Dr. Helmut Zwander, scientific director of the pollen warning service of the state of Carinthia.
New plants, new complaints
Mugwort – an herb that originally comes from Asia and the Balkan countries – caused a surprise in 2023 with heavy blooms in late autumn. In the area around Lake Neusiedl and the Carinthian lakes, the pollen count from the reeds could become important for autumn allergies and the olive groves grown in the Pannonian lowlands could also cause pollution in the future. The tree of heaven, which comes from China, is also spreading in Austria. Since it is predominantly pollinated by insects, relevant pollen counts can only be expected locally. “Aerobiological knowledge and experience is important for a good pollen forecast, because every year has its own face and varies depending on the weather and vegetation. Air pollution also influences the severity of symptoms.”
said Zwander. “Looking at the static pollen calendar alone is no longer enough!”
Pollen information service: personalized, up-to-date, practical
Based on scientific findings, the Pollen Information Service continually creates new services and further develops existing ones. In 2024, all signs point to personalization. For several years now, the offers have taken the individual situation of allergy sufferers into account. In addition to local pollen and symptom data from users, the update now also uses weather data and calculates the influence of ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. This makes the forecast and personal allergy risk even more accurate, as weather and air quality have a significant impact on the well-being of pollen allergy sufferers.
The club’s website was also further developed and rebuilt from scratch. Every user can now personalize the most important information to their needs on the home page using interactive elements, so-called “widgets”, i.e. design their own layout. There are currently 13 of these widgets to choose from: pollen count, allergy risk, pollen diary, exposure map, asthma weather, etc.
New landing page for allergy sufferers
www.allergie.at is a new central landing page in cooperation with the patient platform IGAV – Allergen Avoidance Interest Group. Allergy sufferers can quickly and easily access important information with just one mouse click: Current pollen information, pollen diary, etc. are available at www.polleninformation.at and background information, compact guides and news on various allergy-related topics are available at www.allergenvermeidung.org. Links take you quickly to the other page.
Podcast “Hörgang Blumentalk” & asthma app “breazyTrack”
In cooperation with the publisher Springer Medizin, the first episode of the new podcast series “Hörgang Blossomtalk” went on air. Dr. In this format, Markus Berger and other experts will talk about the upcoming pollen season and the effects of global warming on pollen counts, introduce new plants with allergy potential, tips for relieving symptoms, etc. Episode 1 is available at www.springermedizin.at and on all common podcasts platforms. Another new collaboration is the asthma app “breazyTrack,” for which the pollen information service provides the pollen data.
Being well informed is half the battle
All of these services provide pollen allergy sufferers with verified information and useful tools. “It is helpful if patients come to the doctor with information. This makes it possible for them to correctly classify medical recommendations and to actively participate in their treatment even better. In addition, informed patients show greater adherence to therapy, which leads to better treatment success.”
, said Prim. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Fritz Horak, Medical Director of the Allergy Center Vienna West.
Self-help also has an undisputedly high priority. The Austrian Lung Union supports people with respiratory diseases. It provides information, supports with everyday challenges, offers training and represents patient interests at national and EU level. “The results of this commitment are higher health literacy and better self-management for patients – which brings better therapeutic success and a higher quality of life and also means lower costs for the health system,”
said President Gundula Koblmiller, MSc.
Important: early diagnosis and therapy
In Austria, around 1.5-2 million people suffer from “hay fever”, which is caused by contact with pollen – and the trend is rising. The symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, itchy eyes and sneezing attacks and are associated with a loss of quality of life, as many allergy sufferers also suffer from sleep disorders, a decline in performance at work or school and restrictions in leisure activities during the pollen season. In addition, the supposedly harmless allergic rhinitis is the most important precursor to allergic asthma. “In order to prevent the increase in allergy symptoms and, as a result, possibly asthma, early detection and adequate treatment are needed.”
, Horak knows. There are excellent options available for this.
At the beginning there is a detailed discussion in which the symptoms are linked to possible allergy triggers. This is followed by skin tests and a blood test. Horak explains: “To do this, a blood sample is taken and the concentration of specific IgE antibodies, which are the ‘biomarkers of allergy’, are measured in the laboratory.”
The treatment is based on three pillars. On the one hand, the burden can be significantly and sustainably reduced through measures to avoid allergens. The proven active ingredients antihistamines and cortisone are available for symptomatic therapy. Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) not only manages to relieve the symptoms, but also treats the underlying cause and ideally prevents progression of the disease.
Link tips
www.polleninformation.at – Individual pollen load, download Pollen+ app, online self-test etc.
www.allergenvermeidung.org – information platform for allergy sufferers
www.allergie.at – Find relevant information quickly and easily
Questions & Contact:
Elisabeth Leeb
T: 0699 1 424 77 79
M: leeb.elisabeth@aon.at
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