“Damned spring” for those suffering from seasonal allergies: millions of Italians knocked out by pollen, whose flowering increases precisely in this period. Stuffed and runny nose, sneezing, difficulty breathing, discomfort, itching and tearful eyes are the most common symptoms.
«The mask can be useful but it is not enough – warns the allergist Domenico Schiavino, former director of the Allergy Service of the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome – the pollen are very small, we are talking about microns, the millionth of a meter, so they also penetrate the tissue of the mask. However, if you necessarily have to stay outside, using it is still better than nothing.”
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«This is the period in which the flowering of the cypress begins, then the grasses and the parietaria continue.
Of these fundamental allergens – specifies the expert – the most problematic one is parietaria”. This pollen, in fact being “the smallest of all”, “penetrates deeply, causing greater damage”. But it doesn’t end there: the allergist adds that the parietaria “has a very long pollination” which “begins in March, stops in July and August with the great heat, but from September to November it is active and causes many problems” .
How to cure allergies
The inflammation of the nasal mucosa caused by pollen “makes the nostrils close and you breathe very little.” And for some allergy sufferers it doesn’t end there, because «about 30% of the total have pulmonary complications: cough, bronchitis. And there are many who suffer from asthma at this stage”, underlines Schiavino. This, however, “is not the period to make a quality diagnosis, but it is the moment for treatment”. The first ally against allergies, according to the expert, «is the antihistamine. There are currently products available that do not cause drowsiness.” To keep rhinitis at bay “it is possible to use cortisone-based sprays which have an anti-inflammatory action”, while for conjunctivitis “anti-inflammatory eye drops are used”. Waters for washing the nose are also useful for allergy sufferers: «Physiological water or soothing products are fine», while sulphurous waters «should be used in the preventative phase» recommends Schiavino, otherwise in the allergy phase «they could stress the mucosa even more ».
Prevention
The expert, in case of “symptoms present for two consecutive years” recommends “doing allergy tests, because each specific allergy has a specific cure and specific prevention”. And he adds that «based on the diagnosis we can know who our “enemy” is, when there will be maximum pollination, prepare to prevent contact and decide whether to have a desensitizing vaccine». Even those who have never had allergies don’t let their guard down. “They can appear at any age – warns the expert – the idea that those who have never had problems when young are safe from risk is unfounded”. But he specifies that “the incidence is however lower after the age of 70”. If doctors recommend doing physical activity in the open air with the arrival of the summer, the allergist, however, asks allergy sufferers to avoid “long walks in the meadows”: “this is the period in which we are more exposed to the external environment, the more we breathe pollen and come into contact with allergens. It is therefore better to stay in sheltered environments as much as possible, keeping the windows closed especially if it is windy.”
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