What is dusting in March? Mainly early flowering trees: hazel, alder, poplar, yew and willow. The allergen with the highest concentration is alder, whose pollen is the most common cause of allergic rhinitis in our climate. According to data from the Environmental Allergen Research Center, pollen levels of this plant will be very high throughout March.
What is dusting in March?March is the first spring month when plants begin to dust on a large scale. Hazel, alder, yew, poplar and willow bloom the earliest - and their pollen most often causes hay fever and allergic conjunctivitis.
What dusts in March?
Hazel
Long, yellow inflorescences on hazel are synonymous with the beginning of early spring (depending on the year, hazel pollen may start in January, but the highest concentration of pollen in the air occurs at the turn of February and March). Stinging eyes and runny nose are symptoms of an allergy to the high concentration of pollen of this early-flowering tree, but it is often the case that the symptoms are sometimes confused with a cold, due to the cold season.
Hazel is a common tree, it grows in many forests and parks, and the first signs of its flowering can be noticed in the warmest parts of the country: in the southwest, west and in the center. Hazel pollen cross-reacts with alder and birch pollen, as well as with some food allergens, such as hazelnuts.
Alder
In people allergic to alder pollen, symptoms appear suddenly. It is caused by the rapid onset of pollen on the tree and a very high concentration of pollen in the first days of flowering. Symptoms of alder pollen allergy are primarily rhinitis (runny discharge, itching and stuffy nose, sneezing), conjunctiva redness and watery eyes. Alder pollen allergy is the most common cause of allergic rhinitis in our climate, and the pollen season is similar to hazel pollen: it begins at the turn of January and February, but the plant needs higher temperatures for pollination, therefore the culmination of flowering occurs in mid-March .
Alder pollen shows cross-allergic reactions with hazel and alder pollen allergens, as well as apple, peach and hazelnut food allergens.
Cis
Yew begins to bloom in the third decade of March and dusts from 10 to 30 days. Yew pollen contains an alkaloid, a toxin that can irritate the mucous membranes of the nose and throat. The greatest concentration of the common yew is found in Bory Tucholskie, but it is also a popular ornamental plant (e.g. Japanese yew), planted as a hedge in home gardens and parks.
Poplar
The blooming of poplar trees begins in February, but it starts to intensively dust in the third decade of March. From March to April, male varieties pollinate, and from April to May, female varieties (these produce much less pollen than male varieties, which reduces the amount of allergen in the air). It is worth knowing that the poplar causes sensitization relatively rarely and is wrongly considered the main cause of spring runny nose and tearing.
Poplar pollen may cause cross allergy with willow.
Willow
Willow pollen is not a common allergen, but those who are allergic to them must give up not only bases in a vase, but also honey, because many of them contain willow pollen. People allergic to willow pollen, paradoxically, suffer more from allergies in cities than in villages. In urban spaces, willows grow in many parks, and allergens are transported by the wind from place to place between buildings, which may cause allergies for a long time.
In villages, willows usually grow at a distance from households, because they like wetland, so the chance that pollen will end up in inhabited areas is relatively small. The willow blooms from mid-March to the end of April.
Early or late spring - which is worse for allergy sufferers?
For allergy sufferers, early spring means a longer and more severe pollen season. If the winter is mild, hazel and alder start flowering in January, and the period of their intensive pollination falls in February. On the other hand, the prolonged winter causes that when higher temperatures occur, many allergenic plants start to dust at the same time (apart from hazel and alder, also birch, poplar and willow). The highest concentration of pollen is recorded on clear, windless days, and a reduction in the amount of allergens in the air is brought only by heavy rains.
Also readWhat dusts in January?
What dusts in February?
What is dusting in April?
Co pollen in May?
What is polluting in June?
What dusts in July?
What dusts in August?
What dusts in September?
What dusts in October?
What dusts in November?
Also see the pollen calendar