Ambrosia pollen: information for allergy sufferers
Ambrosia pollen annoys more and more people with an allergic disposition. The flowers of the introduced plant species produce many allergens and prolong the allergy season.
Ambrosia pollen is very aggressive
It is now generally known that the "upright ragwort" is a very strong allergy trigger, which is now also widely used in Europe.
- Ambrosia is often involved when allergic hay fever develops for the first time. This can lead to further allergies to daisies, for example mugwort.
- Ambrosia pollen is generally one of the strong allergens. They can trigger reactions even in low concentrations.
- 5 to 10 pollen of the plant per cubic meter of air is enough to provoke hay fever symptoms. That is 10 times less than with a birch pollen allergy.
- A single ambrosia plant produces up to a billion pollen. These can be transported over long distances with the wind.
- The main pollen season begins in spring and continues until October. Use the pollen calendar and pollen maps to find out what the current situation is.
- Regions with a warmer climate are particularly affected. These are Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg as well as the eastern states like Brandenburg.
Where the ragweed comes from and how you can protect yourself
A few decades ago, the ambrosia was brought into our latitudes from North America via grain and bird feed. The plant finds optimal climatic conditions in Germany to spread.
- The crop is favored by green strips next to roads and streams as well as fallow areas. Avoid proximity to such areas during the main flowering period of the plants if you are sensitive.
- Remove all conspicuous ragweed plants from your garden in good time and dispose of them in a plastic bag in the trash.
- Make neighbors and acquaintances aware of the fight. There are already citizens' initiatives to eradicate this plant.
- During the main flowering period of ambrosia, the only thing left for you as the person affected is to follow the usual recommendations for people suffering from hay fever or asthmatics.
