We managed to sit out on the terrace well into the autumn and most of us enjoyed it, but hay fever sufferers will probably have to pay for this Christmas with a snot. Due to the mild autumn weather, the hazel and the alder flower earlier, so that the pollen can float in the air for the next few weeks.
“Nature is more than a month ahead,” says hay fever specialist Mieke Koenders of Elkerliek Hospital in Helmond. Where hazelnuts and alders normally only start to grow in January or February, this is already the case. There are already many cats in the trees. These catkins can open in the near future and release pollen into the air.
If it is still very cold this month, the buds can freeze. But Koenders predicts that there will just be more pollen in the air in the coming weeks. “They don’t predict a hot December, but not a very cold one either. If he gets -10, they will freeze in pieces. But a moderate frost has to last a very long time for that to happen.
“Hay fever season is actually going on.”
People who are allergic to pollen from those trees can therefore have problems at Christmas time. We have already seen this happen in recent years and this is due to the changing climate. “Plants that flower earlier are also ready earlier, so it’s not the case that they will bother you longer,” reassures Koenders. “Hay fever season is actually changing.”
If you want to avoid sniffling over Christmas dinner, Koenders has a few tips:
- Keep windows and doors closed as much as possible.
- Smear some petroleum jelly around your eyes and nose, so the pollen is partially collected. You could also wear sunglasses, but that might be a little weird this time of year.
- And as soon as you get any complaints, start taking medicines immediately.
