Santa Cruz de Tenerife, April 21, 2021. The Hospiten allergology service confirms that there is evidence linking climate change to pathologies like allergic rhinitis and states that the allergy season has arrived early this year as a result of an increase in temperatures.
Dr. Ruperto Gonzalez Perez, an allergist at the Hospiten Rambla University Hospital, explains that global warming has caused the pollen season to start sooner. "These periods are starting 20 days earlier than 30 years ago," he states. As a result, the pollen season is getting longer, thus the degree of exposure to allergens is greater. "This means there is an increase in symptoms in patients, limiting their quality of life during these periods," adds the doctor.
Gonzalez speaks specifically about the Canary Islands, a case that stands out as a subtropical region with a high presence of environmental aeroallergens like pollen or fungi. Furthermore, "the relatively high degree of environmental humidity increases the proliferation of mites in our homes, making them the most prevalent allergen in the Archipelago", he explains.
However, the current health situation regarding COVID-19 has worked in favor of allergy sufferers. The specialist states that face mask acts as an effective barrier limiting the contact these agents have with the nasal and bronchial mucosa. He also points out that wearing a mask reduces irritation caused by substances present in pollution and dust in suspension.
On the other hand, the allergist reflects on the fact that other related measures like hand hygiene or social distancing "have reduced the number of secondary infections resulting from predominantly autumn-winter respiratory viruses that commonly affect allergy patients". He also reassuring about links with vaccines, ensuring us that cases of reactions to the compound are exceptional situations and must be assessed individually.
About the Hospiten Group
The Hospiten Group is an international healthcare network with 50 years of experience committed to providing the highest quality service, which has twenty private medical-hospital centers in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica and Panama, in addition to more than a hundred outpatient consultation offices under the brand name Clinic Assist. The group is chaired by Dr. Pedro Luis Cobiella and attends more than 1,900,000 patients from all over the world every year with a workforce of more than 5,000 people.