The concentration of birch pollen is currently particularly high in Saxony and throughout Germany. The wind and dry weather also favor pollen count, explains the German Weather Service. Many allergy sufferers now have particularly severe complaints. They suffer from a dry cough and breathing problems – and fear that they could be signs of a corona infection. “An extremely large number of patients are currently calling out of concern that they have become infected,” says Professor Ludger Klimek from the Allergy and Asthma Center in Wiesbaden. But corona and allergy are usually easy to distinguish from one another, says the doctor, who also advises the German Allergy and Asthma Association.
For example, a corona infection does not have the itchy eyes and tears that occur in most allergy sufferers. “Even sneezing attacks and runny nose suggest an allergy rather than a corona infection,” says Klimek. In contrast, allergy sufferers generally do not have a fever. Temperatures above 38 or even 39 degrees are typical for corona or influenza infections.
Cortisone weakens defense
Professor Roland Buhl, who heads the pneumology department at the University Hospital Mainz, still sees allergy sufferers as people with lung diseases. And lung patients would have a higher risk of corona infections. “This statement does not apply in principle to all allergy sufferers. Because patients whose hay fever or asthma are well adjusted and treated no longer belong to the risk group. Your risk of infection is just as great as that of non-allergy sufferers. “
But with which characteristics do you have to assume that asthma or hay fever are not well adjusted? Professor Buhl: “If symptoms occur during the day despite drug treatment.” Those affected then more often felt the urge to use asthma spray or allergy medication.
Allergy sufferers often feel an itch in the eyes, but this is not a symptom of the coronavirus.
© Karolin Krämer / dpa
But they feel the symptoms particularly strongly at night. Then they would have a feeling of tightness in the chest because the body at rest makes the airways narrower. These symptoms could damage lung tissue and increase the risk of infection for corona, said Buhl. An infection then often shows a more severe course.
Patients who turn to the German Allergy and Asthma Aid were often also worried when they had to take cortisone-containing allergy medication because cortisone was said to weaken the immune system. For the professor, however, it makes a difference whether the active ingredient is dosed well and brought locally only to the place where it is needed – for example in the form of an asthma spray, as an ointment for allergic skin reactions or as a nasal spray for severe hay fever. Or whether it is administered as tablets or syringes and therefore has a systemic effect on the whole body.
Everyday tips for allergy sufferers
Non-drug measures can also help reduce the severity of allergy symptoms.
- 1. Observe pollen flight forecast and take it into account accordingly during activities.
- 2. Avoid allergy-intensifying influences such as cigarette smoke, ozone or chlorinated water.
- 3. Ventilate city apartments in the morning, in the country rather in the evening.
- 4. Insert the pollen filter in the ventilation of the car.
- 5. Wash hair daily before going to bed.
Source: Allergiecheck.de
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According to Buhl, the treatment of allergies with depot syringes has become unusual due to the strong side effects. The cortisone syringe is, however, a proven emergency medication. So-called monoclonal antibodies – better known as biologics – are available today against severe allergies that cannot be treated with locally acting drugs. “These even help prevent other infections because they protect the inner mucous membrane,” said Buhl.
Hay fever and asthma are not fate. By getting the body used to the allergen in slowly increasing doses, the complaints become less frequent or disappear completely. This only causal treatment method is also known under the terms “allergy vaccination”, “desensitization”, “hyposensitization” or “specific immunotherapy”. According to Professor Klimek, patients who have started such treatment, which often lasts for years, should continue in Corona times.
Further articles
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However, the allergy specialist recommends arranging a time with the doctor when there are no other patients in the practice to reduce the risk of infection. A cured allergy is the best prerequisite for reducing the risk of illness from viruses and bacteria.
We keep you up-to-date on the corona virus in our news blog.
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