We were able to sit on the terrace well into autumn and most of us enjoyed it, but hay fever sufferers will probably have to pay for it this Christmas with a snot. Due to the mild autumn weather, the hazel and alder are in bloom earlier, so that pollen can float around in the air for the coming weeks.
“Nature is more than a month ahead,” says hay fever specialist Mieke Koenders of the Elkerliek Hospital in Helmond. Where hazelnuts and alders normally only start growing in January or February, this is already the case. There are already many cats on the trees. These catkins can open up in the near future and release pollen into the air.”
If it still gets very cold this month, the buds can freeze. But Koenders expects that in the coming weeks there will only be more pollen in the air. “They don’t predict a warm December, but not a lot of freezing cold either. If it gets -10, they will freeze to pieces. But a moderate frost has to last for a very long time for that to happen.”
“The hay fever season is actually moving on.”
People who are allergic to the pollen from those trees can therefore experience problems around Christmas. 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 it will bother you longer,” Koenders reassures. “The hay fever season is actually shifting.”
If you want to avoid sniffling at Christmas dinner, Koenders has some tips:
- Keep windows and doors closed as much as possible.
- Smear vaseline around your eyes and nose, this way the pollen is partly collected. You could also put on sunglasses, but that might be a little strange at this time of year.
- And as soon as you get complaints, start with medicines immediately.