Does wearing a mouth mask against hay fever help?

With the rise in temperature, the number of hay fever complaints has also risen sharply. On a scale of 1 to 10, the complaints are at the end of February 2021, with a 6 now ‘quite a lot’, can be seen on the Hooikoorts Radar. Hazels and Alders in particular are the culprits and cause complaints such as itchy eyes, sneezing and fatigue. A difficult factor in corona time, because they (also by others) can be mistaken for corona complaints. Can wearing a mouth mask at this time still contribute to reducing the complaints?

Cough and sneezing shame

Because of some of the symptoms of hay fever resembling corona complaints, strong reactions to the pollen in the air can be extra annoying. With a COVID-19 infection, in addition to fever, dry cough, fatigue, headache, cold symptoms and loss of smell and / or taste often occur. Hay fever does not involve a fever, but there are overlapping complaints such as coughing, sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes and fatigue. The distinction is not always clear and can cause concern for both hay fever patients and people in their environment. Prof.dr.ir. Huub Savelkoul, Professor of Immunology, Wageningen University & Research advises on the Pollennieuws website to start timely with hay fever medication to combat complaints. Some hay fever patients also choose to indicate that they suffer from hay fever by means of a bracelet, T-shirt or mouth mask with text.

Does wearing a mouth mask help?

In public indoor areas it is mandatory to wear a face mask. It would be nice if they help reduce hay fever complaints when worn outside. However, this is only partly true. Professor Savelkoul explains: “In principle, masks do not prevent pollen from entering the nasal cavity or into the eyes (although some pollen grains are filtered out depending on the size), but that depends on the wind conditions. At the same time, the temperature and humidity in the nose in masks rise, slowing down the absorption of pollen grains and the allergic reaction in the nose. ” Arian Kuil of the ENT department of Diakonessenhuis hospital says opposite Radar: “Most non-medical face masks barely protect against contamination and small particles in the air. They mainly prevent you from infecting someone with your cough or sneeze drops. ” He also discusses the effect of the better mouth masks: “Pollen in the air does not only come into contact with your nose or mouth. You also get them in your eyes, ears and body hair, for example. They will still get in the hair on your head and if they get on your pillow at night, it will bother you, ”he explains. Letty de Weger, pollen researcher in the lung diseases department of the Leiden University Medical Center, explains Nu.nl that FFP2 masks can stop larger and smaller particles of the pollen. It is those small particles that cause hay fever symptoms when they end up in the eyes, mouth and nose. Scientific research has shown that they partially reduce the complaints, but unfortunately do not completely remove them, she agrees.