Alder tree pollen allergy – symptoms and treatment

Pollen monitoring
Alder tree allergy
Symptoms
Diagnostics
The main allergens of alder
Treatment
Allergen immunotherapy (AIT)
Diet

The beginning of March – there is still a lot of snow in our area and alder and hazel are just getting ready for calendar dusting.

In the Moscow region, alder usually blooms in the last week of March, in the Leningrad region – in early April.

However, already in the last days of February, the body of some allergy sufferers experiences discomfort.

For sensitive allergy sufferers, the flowering season does not coincide with the calendar schedule. The pollen is carried by winds from warmer regions of Europe, where spring comes much earlier. If conditions are favorable, there is no rain and the average daily temperature does not fall below +5, then alder catkins open at the end of January.

Alder and birch pollen is very light and volatile, so it can be carried by the wind over long distances. Spring is a difficult time for an allergic person: the snow melts, the reagents evaporate.

Let me remind those who have forgotten: the identified class of allergy is not at all an indicator of the exact reaction. One with a 1st class of allergy will choke on a small amount of the allergen, the other, with the highest class according to analyzes, will only scratch his nose. Focus not on the numbers in the tests, but on the sensations and symptoms.

Pollen monitoring

Petersburgers and residents of the north-west can be guided by information from the Finnish sites norkko.fi and silam.fmi.fi. The second site models the movement of pollen through the atmosphere and indicates its concentration with colored markers.

European site: polleninfo.org

Alder tree allergy

Now about the alder. Alder is a member of the birch family and belongs to early flowering trees. Alder begins to bloom when the snow has not yet melted. The tree usually begins to bloom in the first warm week of early spring if the weather is dry and windy.

A popular sign of allergy sufferers: when coltsfoot appears in the thawed patches, it means that the alder is already dusty. Alder pollen can be an independent allergen and an allergy to it can develop as a cross-reaction to birch pollen. If birch pollen is the trigger (primary culprit) of an allergic reaction, the allergic person’s body may react to pollen from many closely related trees, as their proteins are similar.

Trees that can cross-react with birch:

• alder;
• hazel (hazel);
• hornbeam;
• beech;
• oak;
• chestnut;
• ash;
• olive Tree;
• cypress;
• hornbeam.

Alder tree allergy symptoms

Rhinitis

• runny nose,
• nasal congestion,
• sneezing.

Conjunctivitis

• eye redness,
• itchy eyes,
• tears.

Bronchial asthma

• cough,
• labored breathing,
• wheezing breath.

Oral Allergy Syndrome

• itching in the mouth after eating fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, arising from the similarity of proteins, the so-called cross-reaction.

Hives.

Pain in the joints.

Itching blisters on exposed parts of the body.

Diagnostics

If you suspect a reaction to alder in yourself or your child, do not delay visiting an allergist. Antihistamines do not cure, but only relieve symptoms.

A description of the symptoms will probably suffice for a doctor to make a diagnosis. But to confirm an allergy to alder, you will have to take tests.

Skin tests. Diagnosis is carried out when the flowering period of the trees has passed. There are restrictions on age and the number of samples allowed per visit.

Laboratory tests. A modern and accurate research method is molecular diagnostics, for example, using the ImmunoCap method.

The method is safe, there are no age restrictions (even a baby is possible) and diagnostics can be carried out at any time without canceling allergy medications.

The main allergens of alder

Aln g 1 – PR-10 – major (main protein) of alder.

Aln g 1 is a member of the PR-10 protein family. These are the main (major) proteins of the entire Bukotsvetnye (birch) family. This protein is found in many fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes.

PR-10 protein is found in strawberries, apples, apricots, cherries, peaches, pears, raspberries, green kiwis, celery, carrots, peanuts, soybeans, mung or mung beans, hazelnuts, walnuts, chestnuts, and tomatoes.

Aln g 4 – polcalcin is a minor alder protein.
Aln g 4 is responsible for the cross-reaction with the pollen of trees, grasses and shrubs.

Plants in which Polcalcin is found: birch, hornbeam, oak, cypress, cedar, ash, olive, lilac, comb wheatgrass, common spikelet, oats, hogweed, cocksfoot, distichlis, fescue, barley, cylindrical emperor, chaff, rice, timothy , meadow mint, wheat, sugar cane, corn, ragweed, wormwood, tobacco, cryptomeria, rapeseed, gauze, stennitsa, false acacia locust.

Alder tree allergy treatment

Start the basic therapy that the doctor has selected: antihistamines, montelukast, inhalations for asthma, cromones, hormonal sprays. It is better not to wait for symptoms, start taking medicines from the calendar start of alder flowering. Of course, if you have a reaction to alder.

During flowering, it is undesirable to carry out skin tests for tree pollen, resume diagnostics in October. If you find a reaction to cross-products during flowering, follow the diet. If cross-products do not provoke an exacerbation of allergies, a diet is not needed.

• Moisten your nose with saline or isotonic saline solutions.
• Do not open windows. Do not turn off the supply ventilation with HEPA filters day or night. If there is no ventilation, put covering material on the windows, which will reduce the entry of the allergen into the apartment.
• Put your air purifiers on 24/7. You will save electricity in the summer.
• Clean your apartment more often.
• If you go outside, wear a protective mask and goggles.
• After the walk, take a shower and wash your hair.
• Keep outdoor clothes in cases or bags.
• Change and wash bedding frequently.
• Steam your outdoor clothes or wash them more often.
• To clean the apartment, use steam mops or a steam generator. To neutralize the allergen, the outlet steam temperature should be approximately 80 degrees. There are steam generators with a steam temperature not higher than 60 degrees – these will not work. Be careful.
• If the allergy is severe, a good way out is to escape the pollen to a region where the alder has already faded or has not yet begun to bloom.

Allergen immunotherapy (AIT)

Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is the most studied and successful treatment for hay fever in both children and adults. Just keep in mind, AIT can only treat major proteins of the allergen. Therefore, careful diagnosis before therapy is required.

The allergist will determine the treatment strategy based on the results of the tests. Most often, alder allergens are included in complex formulations for AIT, along with other allergens, but you can find a drug only with alder pollen.

Popular medicines for AIT from alder pollen:

• Birch pollen extract – Staloral;
• Fostal;
• Diater.

During the flowering of the allergen, the allergist can adjust the dosage of the drug. If you receive medicine with injections, then, with a violent reaction to alder, the doctor will most likely reduce the dosage.

AIT drops are usually better tolerated, and the doctor may continue therapy without reducing the dosage.

Alder Allergy Diet

The diet is recommended only if the products – crosses provoke exacerbations of allergies. If there is no reaction to such products, there is no point in removing them from the diet “just in case”.

Only 30% of allergy sufferers react to cross products.

An exception to this rule for children is nuts and honey. Allergists do not advise eating nuts and honey during the flowering period, even if there is no reaction to them.

If you still need a diet, below is a list of foods that you should refrain from during alder flowering:

• apples;
• pears;
• apricots;
• plums;
• cherry;
• cherry;
• Strawberry;
• peaches;
• carrots;
• young potatoes (in any form), but old potatoes can be;
• celery;
• parsley;
• nuts;
• coriander.

Fruits and vegetables from this list, except for young potatoes, can be tasted boiled.