Watch out for grasses this Spring

Spain

NATIONAL - EXPERTS predict that this Spring is going to be bad for people who are allergic to grass pollen, as the heavy rains that have fallen over the past months will lead to double the amount of pollen in the air compared to last year.

NATIONAL - EXPERTS predict that this Spring is going to be bad for people who are allergic to grass pollen, as the heavy rains that have fallen over the past months will lead to double the amount of pollen in the air compared to last year.

The head of the Aerobiology Committee of the Spanish Society of Clinical Immunology, Javier Subiza, said that the grass pollen, which appears between April and July, will be present with a concentration of more than 5,100 grains per cubic metre of air.

This problem will be worst in Madrid, Castilla La Mancha, Extremadura and northern Andalucia. Sales of anti-histamine products are due to multiple by six compared to last year.

In Spain, 20 per cent of the population suffers from allergy, mainly due to atmospheric contamination and excessive cleaning which make the immunological system ‘lazy’. However, only 10 per cent of them get vaccinations.

Almost 25 per cent of the population has rhinitis and almost 10 per cent suffer from asthma.