“We have the impression that from year to year it is more and more exceptional,” notes the president of the allergists’ union

“It’s exceptional but we have the impression that from year to year it’s more and more exceptional”, notes Edouard Sève, allergist doctor in Fontainebleau and president of the allergists’ union, guest on franceinfo. With spring weather, the risk of allergy is high in most French departments, more than three quarters of the country are affected, according to the National Aerobiological Surveillance Network (RNSA).

“This year we had the first pollen at Christmas, it only needs to be at least five degrees for the hazel pollen to start arriving.”explains the allergist who now notes the presence of pollen almost all year round. “Tree pollens start, in theory, at the end of February but this year they started in January. It stops in May, then it’s the grasses and we saw that they finished in October”. It also highlights the presence of cypress pollen which can arrive very early, “in November, in the south of France”.

The number of people with allergies in France is increasing. “About 40 years ago we noted 2% to 3% of the population who were allergic, currently it is more like 25% or more and we estimate that in 2050 it will perhaps be 50%”, explains Edouard Sève. He links this increase to pollution, genetics and endocrine disruptors. The allergist recommends, in everyday actions, to stay at home around noon, when pollen peaks, to rinse your hair in the evening to avoid keeping it and being bothered at night, to use the masks we have left over from the Covid-19 pandemic for gardening and to avoid drying laundry outside.