High concentrations of pollen were reported in the air this week, warn experts from the national laboratory that monitors allergen levels.

Currently, every third Bulgarian suffers from allergies, and the number of those exposed to hay fever is growing with each passing year.

In the laboratory "Allergen preparations" at the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases every day is measured  the so-called. "Pollen background", i.e. the concentration of pollen in the air.

With rising temperatures, experts here are already reporting higher levels of allergens, and from the middle of next week, those prone to hay fever will now seriously feel the irritants in the air.

The largest amount and the most allergenic will be the pollen from plane tree, oak and beech. The more the temperatures outside rise, the more the patients who come to the Allergology Clinic at Alexandrovska Hospital grow.

The diagnosis is one - "allergic rhinitis".

"Patients with hay fever come to us every day. The warmer and drier the weather, the more unpleasant it is for patients who have allergic diseases, because then they start to trigger symptoms ", says Dr. Simeona Uzunova.

What exactly triggers the symptoms of hay fever is monitored in this laboratory. Every day, experts measure the levels of a total of over 200 allergens, says biologist Mariela Hristova.

"From the group of pollen allergens, the list contains about 70 species each year." Air samples are collected and observed under a microscope and then counted how many types of pollen there are, from each type how many pollen grains have fallen on this sample.

More and more Bulgarians suffer from hay fever, according to the Society of Allergology.

Currently, the symptoms caused by allergens are triggered every year in every third person in our country. Although the symptoms are classic, in the last year the recognition of hay fever has become an increasingly serious challenge for allergists, says Dr. Maria Ivanova from the Toxin-allergic Department of the Military Medical Academy.

Problem is symptoms often repeat those of COVID-19.

"Naturally, muscle pain and fever cannot be a symptom of allergic suffering - this inclines the scales to a coronavirus infection. But most teenagers suffer slightly from COVID-19."

What distinguishes pollinosis from it is the seasonality and recurrent status of the disease.

"The fact that you had similar symptoms last year at the same time leans the scales towards allergies rather than coronavirus infection," said the doctor.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!