Useful hints

... Pollen can not be avoided!
Wrong!

It is difficult to avoid contact with pollen during the pollen season without doubt, but it is crucial to adapt one´s behavior. Those who know about backgrounds and their allergy succeed in minimizing contact with pollen and thus reduce their burden.

Pay attention especially to the pollen forecast! We connect you via www.pollenwarndienst.at and www.polleninfo.org to all available information in Austria and Europe.
We also inform newspapers, via broadcast and teletext.

Filtering air

Staying in closed rooms

The pollen concentration decreases after 10 minutes to 1% of the outdoor value, if you close the windows. Avoid turbulences (e.g. from ventilation or heavy walk arounds), because this can lead to resuspending of pollen from the floor back into the air.

Pollen screens

Use pollen screens for your windows at home to work and sleep with a window open. The special textile structure prevents entering for 90% of pollen depending on species and size in a variable degree and limits the free exchange of air only negligible.

Pollen filter masks

Those masks remind of operation masks and show a good filter effect. However, they handicap in every day life and are eye-catching. The filter can somewhat affect breathing and the rubber can be experienced as pressing. The masks can provide valuable service for sensitive pollen allergy sufferers as well as for foreseeable intense and unavoidable contact.

Pollen filter for the car

A pollen filter should be available for every car if not already integrated as standard. Such filters provide excellent protection, if they are serviced regularly or replaced. Please think about those filters in advance of the pollen season, because a sneezing attack is very dangerous for the driver. Pollen filters only work of course, when windows are closed.

Deciduous forest as protection

Deciduous forests can provide some protection outdoors, because leaves are efficient filters there. This applies only, if leaves were already developed and if you do not have problems with tree pollen, that occurs during that time in the forest. This recommendation is not valid for the whole grass pollen season, because certain species occur also in the forest.Attention at the edge of the forest, because pollen concentrations are high there.

Air cleaners

Air cleaners filter the air and can remove not only pollen, but also hair, dust and bacteria from the air. Such an acquisition can be considered for the workplace or at home despite the price.

Proper organization and scheduling

Reasoned stay outdoors

The daily distribution of pollination is little studied up to now. Derive benefit from the middle and short-term pollen forecast and the bib-hourly forecasts, which show you peak pollen loads during the day for the next three days.

Avoid fields

Grass pollen allergy sufferers should avoid flowering cereal fields (especially rye and maize fields). This pollen could irritate additionally or even more intense.The close proximity of rapeseed fields should be avoided. More and more persons report symptoms due to rapeseed pollen, although rapeseed is pollinated by insects.

To the coast or in the mountains

Pollen concentrations are in fact lower at the coasts or in the mountains in general, even if there are exceptions to the rule. A possible pitfall is the flower of green alder during May/June at higher elevated sites. Plants flower in the mountains, when they finish flowering at low altitudes as a rule. The burden from fungal spores and house dust mites decreases with increasing altitude.

Holiday planning

It makes a dramatic difference where and when a pollen allergy sufferer is no holiday. The change of location and climate should quieten, because air, altitude of the location and temperature determine the swelling of the mucous membranes besides the personal cause for allergies. Therefore pay attention to our hints for the holidays and the pollen load maps for Europe.

Sport in an environment poor in pollen

The more air you breathe in, the more pollen you take in as well. Increased allergen contact thus occurs during exertion, e.g. when exercising outdoors. It is recommended to avoid certain day times or to do sports in protected areas (e.g. in gyms).Interestingly the opposite was observed for endurance athletes: hay fever vanished for a short-term during exertion. it is within your own responsibility to approach your personal, ideal conditions slowly, carefully and responsibly.

Suitable house and garden plants

Shape your own environment poor in allergens. Clarify always if a certain plant could affect you as and example. Think always about cross-reactions (and don´t decide for an olive tree, if you are an ash pollen allergy sufferer!)! Attention, there is also an allergy to fig tree (Ficus)!

Walk on the sunny side

Heat convection causes circulating pollen in the city and results reportedly in less pollen on the sunny side of the street. Such small-scale differences were not evidenced repeatedly, but you as pollen allergy sufferer may walk in the sun.

Don´t mow your lawn yourself

It is naturally to keep grasses from flowering in your own environment. But you should take care to not mow yourself, because particles are released during mowing, that contain allergens and irritate as long as they deposited.

Aids for every day life

Drinking water

To drink a lot of water keeps your mucous membranes moist and thus make them less irritable than dry mucous membranes. Especially mineral water containing magnesium is recommended.

Face shower

A face shower with cold water can relieve the burden from hay fever such as itching eyes, itching skin and tension headache.

Home remedy

Use tricks like a cold, wet washcloth (in case of need a wet tissue) to soothe irritated eyes.A nose shower with isotonic or hypotonic table or sea salt solution is relieving. Background: The running nose tries to transport allergens out of the nose. The surplus liquid is extracted from the mucous membranes of the nose due to the osmotic effect of the solution and the mucous membranes subside.

No alcohol

Alcohol expands the blood vessels. This applies also to the mucous membranes of the nose, which become more permeable due to alcohol and thus allergens arrive more easily in the bloodstream. Some medication also shows a comparable effect.

No smoking

The inhalation of cigarette smoke (actively and passively) firstly plays a role during the cause of allergies and asthma and secondly worsens the burden of a already manifested allergic disease. Attention should be paid to this fact even more so concerning children!

On the go with sunglasses and hat

Protect your conjunctiva mechanically and very simple with sunglasses: part of the pollen is kept from your eyes and you thus protect your already irritated mucous membranes of your eyes, which are more sensitive to light than usual during an allergic reaction. A hat with a broad brim keeps pollen in addition from you.

Don´t dry clothes outdoors

Never let your clothes dry outdoors, because the moist cloth catches pollen even better and can thus provoke a reaction (e.g. skin reaction such as itching). If, however, you need to do so, then iron the clothes (many allergens can be destroyed by heat).

Don´t disperse pollen at home

Pollen deposits on clothes and hair. Therefore, it is important to not disperse your clots in your bedroom by changing clothed there. It can be an important hint to wash your hair before you go to sleep. By doing so, you can take care to no load your living environment additional with pollen.

Don´t overreact

Do not panic when the season approaches. You should be aware of your allergy and keep yourself informed, because you can help yourself if you know how.
But abstain from developing hatred against nature or want to cut birches in your environment. On the one hand the removal of one birch tree doesn´t pay (especially locally because tree pollen is going up in the height like a bonfire and distributed later) and on the other hand your immune system would decide most probably for a different troublemaker.