Pollen Allergy and Flowering Calendar

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Generality

Pollinosis is an allergic reaction that occurs on a seasonal basis in people who are hypersensitive to pollens from specific families of herbs, flowers and trees. Among the different Italian areas there are significant differences in sensitization to the various pollens: the presence of allergenic granules is influenced by the climate and the spread of vegetation in the territory.

Anemophilous pollens (airborne) represent the main allergens of the disease: they are widely distributed in the environment and, due to their small size, they can be inhaled and penetrate the respiratory tract, giving rise to the typical clinical manifestations of the disease.

The pollen grains are released into the atmosphere with characteristics defined for each individual plant.

Importance of Calendars

Identifying and knowing the pollen to which you are sensitized can help you better manage your allergy.

Pollen calendars provide a general idea of the concentration of certain allergenic pollens at a specific time of year and in different Italian regions, as the timing and intensity of the spread of pollen are variable factors. These calendars are processed by the National Aerobiology Centers or by the Local Health Authorities, to provide the user with real-time updated data on pollination and short-term "forecasts". The detection of the parameters is performed by means of volumetric samplers for pollen capture, which allow the quantification of pollen concentrations per cubic meters of air.

Over time, thanks to aerobiology studies, it was possible to detect:

The progressive increase in cases of pollen allergy, especially with regard to early or pre-spring flowering trees ( Cupressaceae, Betulaceae, Corylaceae );
The appearance of new pollen grains diffused by exotic plants, introduced on our territory for ornamental or reforestation purposes;
The onset of additional allergic forms caused by plant pollens whose seeds were introduced in some Italian regions, as pollutants of agricultural seeds imported from other continents (eg Ambrosia).

The creation of pollen calendars allows us to identify the following seasons:

Winter / pre-spring.
In the first months of the year the pollens of some arboreal plants appear: Betulaceae (Alder), Corylaceae (Nocciolo) and Cupressaceae . Later on, the pollen of Oleaceae (Ash) and of Salicaceae (Poplar and Willow) appear. The presence of Platano pollen is observed between March and April.
Spring .
In addition to the pollens of numerous arboreal plants Betulaceae (Birch), Corylaceae (Carpini), Fagaceae (oak and beech), Oleaceae (Ash and Olive), Cypress, Platano and Pino, pollen from herbaceous plants such as Urticaceae and Graminaceae are also found . The poplar and willow pollens disappear.
Summer season.
Characterized mainly by the presence of herbaceous plant pollens such as Urticaceae and Compositae (Ambrosia and Artemisia). The pollen of arboreal plants detected are those of Chestnut and Pine.

Example of pollen calendar

Here is an example of a calendar to be able to identify approximately the flowering period of the plant to which you are allergic. It should be remembered, however, that the flowering period is influenced by climatic factors, such as humidity, rainfall intensity, cold. As a result, it may vary by area and by year. For these reasons it is useful that the pollen allergic person consults the updated flowering calendar of his region.

grasses	pollination period	Salicaceae	pollination period
Oats	from May to August	Poplar	from March to September
Wheat, Loglio	from May to June	Willow	from March to September
Maize, Sorghum	from July to September	Cupilifere	pollination period
Rye	from June to July	Beech tree	from March to June
Cannarecchia	from August to September	Oak tree	from April to June
Weedy grass	from June to August	Corilacee	pollination period
Canine grass	from June to October	core	from January to March
Capellini, Agroside	from June to August	Hornbeam White and Black	from April to May
Caprinella, Mazzolina grass	from May to September	Cupressacee	pollination period
Cowgirl grass	from May to July	ipresso	from January to May
Paleo Dei Prati	from April to June	Urticaceae	pollination period
Paleo, Spigolina	from April to June	pellitory	from February to October
Paleo Odoroso	from March to July	Oleaceae	pollination period
Logliarello	from May to August	Ash tree	from April to June
Gramigna of the streets	from February to November	Privet	from April to June
Gramigna of Prati and Orzo	from April to August	Olivo	from March to April to June
Composite	pollination period	Other Plants	pollination period
Ambrosia	from August to September	Maple, Horse Chestnut	from April to May
Wild Absinthe	from August to September	Eucalyptus	from April to June
Absinthe, Chamomile	from June to September	Pino Domestico	from April to June
Dandelion	from February to November	Maritime Pine	from April to June
Girasole, Verga D'oro	from July to October	White Mulberry	from May to June
daisy	perennial	Mimosa, Robinia	from February to July
Betullacee	pollination period	Elm tree	from March to April
Birch	from January to February to May	Dwarf palm	from July to October
Alder	from February to April	Plantain	from April to August
pellitory	from February to October	Black Pine	from May to July
Plantanacee	pollination period	Rate	from February to May
plane tree	from March to May	lime	from March to June

Using calendars

Aerobiological monitoring and processing of pollen calendars make it possible to make an important contribution, both to the doctor and to the patient, in the correct management of pollen allergy; all this for the following reasons:

During the diagnosis of pollen allergy, it contributes to the creation of adequate diagnostic panels and facilitates the correlation with the clinical history reported by the patient (medical history) and the positive aspects highlighted by diagnostic tests.
In clinical monitoring, it allows the evaluation of variations in clinical signs, pathophysiological and immunological parameters.
Finally, during the pollen season, it directs to correct drug therapy and provides indications to set the immunotherapy suitable for the specific allergy.