“Nature is full of life,” says Claus Pfefferle from the Staufen forest district. Because of the good weather, several trees give off pollen. Spruce pollen does not lead to allergic reactions.
Yellow dust is currently on the entire district on cars, bicycles and water surfaces. Is it Sahara sand that was carried across the Mediterranean to southern Baden? Foresters and allergists wave them off. A number of tree species currently release pollen into the air. The persistently good weather provides ideal conditions for this. Spruces are probably responsible for a large part of the yellow dust. Your pollen hardly causes allergic reactions.
Three years ago you could see yellow clouds
“Can you still remember 2017?” Asks Claus Pfefferle, office manager of the Staufen forest district. If you looked at a forest back then, a dense yellow cloud was assumed. This reminded some of Sahara sand, but it was spruce pollen. “It was much more extreme than this year,” says Pfefferle. However, spruce trees are also currently blooming heavily, and there are pine trees in individual regions. Oak, beech, plane and chestnut trees also distributed pollen. “Everything is blooming at the moment,” says Pfefferle, referring to fruit trees and the birch, from whose pollen many allergy sufferers suffer.
This does not have to indicate a struggle for survival, in which a tree pours excessive pollen to reproduce and secure its existence. When the weather is fine as it is now, the trees are blooming. “Nature knows no economy there. If it has the opportunity, it will give you plenty of energy,” says Pfefferle. If there were still a frost, the bloom would be over quickly. Despite the continuing drought, many trees are still well supplied with water and strong enough to bloom properly. The fact that the yellow dust comes from the forest is also evident from the sheer amount of pollen. A few fruit trees were not enough.
Spruce pollen doesn’t burst, says an allergist
“Spruce and pine pollen do not lead to allergy reactions,” says Karl-Christian Bergmann from the German Pollen Information Service Foundation. According to the allergist, the large amount of pollen in the air causes irritation to the eyes or nose, even for non-allergy sufferers. Because foreign objects get in the eyes, they could tear. “But there is no itching that occurs with allergies,” says Bergmann. Unlike birch pollen, for example, spruce pollen did not burst open. “They are covered by a kind of wax layer,” says Bergmann. As a result, they also swim on water surfaces.
“People with hay fever do not have a reduced immunological defense, they are not ‘immune-weakened’.” Karl-Christian Bergmann
Bergmann has another message: For people suffering from hay fever, there is no higher risk of getting infected with the coronavirus or of developing Covid-19. Doubtful media reports in this regard have led to a number of worried calls to the pollen information service. Bergmann says: “People with a hay fever have no reduced immunological defense, are not ‘immune-weakened’, and defense against bacteria and viruses is normal.” Medicines to treat hay fever should continue to be taken.
Birch pollen, which is unpleasant for many allergy sufferers, is currently on the decrease, according to the pollen information service they had the highest values at Easter. Now oak pollen is taking the lead, beech pollen is also flying. In addition, the first grasses have started to bloom.
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