In recent decades, as in all parts of the world, the frequency of allergic diseases has increased exponentially in our country as well. Such a reason is certainly the enormous number of new compounds appearing in our environment (thousands of potential new antigens every year), the unfortunately relegation of breast milk feeding, the lack of strengthening of the childhood immune system due to excessive antibiotic use, or the spread of smoking.
The disease also has serious national economic consequences. According to statistics in the United States, allergies cause 3.1 million lost work days a year, and annual medical costs are about 8 billion dollars!
These days we are well into the ragweed season. Based on the website of the National Center for Public Health, the pollen concentration of ragwort is typically in the medium range. It will rise gradually in the following days and at the beginning of the next week, and it is expected to reach high levels in several places in the eastern parts of the country and the Great Plain.
In addition, we recommend the website to all allergy sufferers, their relatives, and, of course, interested parties
In addition to the daily updated pollen report broken down by city, the ragweed pollen concentration forecast is also available on detailed maps!
Since the start of the aeropollenological studies in Szeged and Budapest in 1989, pollen measurements have been carried out continuously, during which it was possible to map, on the one hand, into which stages and periods the flowering of domestic plants can be divided, and on the other hand, which are the most common pollen grains found in the air, and how strong their allergenic effect can be considered.
If we study the flowering time of individual plants, especially angiosperms, the year can be divided into three seasons. Of course, the individual periods cannot be sharply separated from each other, but the separation is also useful for the sake of comparability and measurement:
The year can be divided into three seasons
- spring pollen season ("tree" season): pollen produced in the period from the beginning of February to the end of April. The start of flowering varies greatly, mostly at the beginning of March, but as the climate gets warmer, it can happen earlier. It ends not with the last month of spring, but with the end of April, when the first grains of grass pollen appear.
- early summer pollen season ("grass" season): the period from early May to mid-July, characterized mainly by herbaceous plants (wild grasses, cereals, early summer weeds) and some tree pollen in May.
- late summer pollen season ("weed" season): the pollen grains produced from mid-July to the end of October are mainly produced by soft-stemmed weeds.
Among the plants of the spring pollen season, birch is the most allergenic tree of the spring period.
Pollen often causes symptoms, especially in Northern Europe and Scandinavia. Hazelnut specimens are among the earliest to bloom, and their pollen is moderately allergenic. Since it is grown in many places, pollen can be present in high concentrations locally. Alder pollen appears shortly after hazelnuts and is highly allergenic. The oak is our country's most typical forest community-forming plant, its pollen is considered to be mildly to moderately allergenic pollen, and it is one of the tree species that closes the spring season. The poplar was the main plant of the Great Plains afforestation, it is very widespread throughout the country, it is the characteristic "dust collector" of the housing estates in most cities of the Great Plains and at the same time it produces a lot of pollen: the tree that creates forests in the Southern Great Plains. The white seed hairs found on the seeds from the fruits produced in May and early July can irritate the mucous membranes of the nose and can be carriers of the highly allergenic grass pollen stuck to them.
The members of the early summer pollen season are the defining plants of mankind's life. 700 genera 12,200. species include a significant part of the most important grains and fodder. Among cereals, pollen from rye and sorghum is a weak allergen. The grasses of meadows, pastures, and mowing fields (sedges, sedges, etc.) are natural elements of the Hungarian flora, they are excellent fodder, but they are highly allergenic. The grasses of the parks and ornamental gardens (English sedge, stargrass) are sown from seeds imported from abroad and are strong allergens.
In connection with the late summer pollen season, we come to the main culprit, ragweed.
One specimen produces a very large amount of highly allergenic pollen. There are 5 species, one of which is the coastal ragwort, which is native to the Mediterranean, and the others are introduced weeds.
The scientific name of ragwort was given by Carl von Linné in 1753. The plant, native to the American continent, was still unknown in European gardens at the time. Linne's description of the species probably
It was based on herbarium specimens received from America. Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan, the patron saint of the city, director of the church liturgy, author of the church hymn Te Deum Laudamus, became its namesake (Linné liked to name plants after famous people). So to the ragweed, this one from the southern regions of North America, to be more precise
This pesky weed from Arizona has nothing to do with ambrosia, the divine food of Greek mythology.
In our country, one species is the so-called Wormwood (Ambrosia artemisfolia) spread. It is believed to have been around since the 1920s, but its real explosive growth can be traced back to the last 30-35 years.
Although it was already found in botanical gardens in the 1700s and it cannot be ruled out that in some cases it escaped and started to spread, according to investigations, its main settlement began in the 1860s.
It probably came with imports of American wheat and potatoes.
The early spread was mainly observed around ports and railway lines. In this way, they spread from the European ports: e.g. From Rijeka and Croatia to Transdanubia, from Trieste and Genoa to Northern Italy, and from Marseille to the Rhône Valley. Today, the three regions most infested with fallow grass in Europe are: the Rhône Valley, Northern Italy, and the most infested of all: the Carpathian Basin.
Its next significant import took place during the First World War, with fodder for horses arriving with the army.
In Hungary, ragweed was first noticed near Orsova in the 20th century. at the beginning of the century. Since it came from the Southern region, its earlier known name was rácfú or Serbian grass. From the 1920s, the species gradually spread throughout the Great Plain and then also in Transdanubia. Compared to its rivals, it has adapted excellently to the warmer climate of the Carpathian Basin, and has now become the most numerous pest weed found in the entire country. Most often, along roads and railway tracks, it grows rapidly in abandoned areas and displaces all other species. This is where his well-known name comes from.
While not a single ragweed pollen was found in Szeged in 1968, by the end of the 1990s the world's highest pollen concentration was measured here.
Since its flowering lasts for a long time, in some years there is pollen in the air for 90-125 days, and there are 45-60 days when its value is above the allergy threshold.
In the next section, which will be published shortly, we will review the most modern treatment options.
Author: Dr. György Temesszentandrasi
Photo: MTI
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