Bad news for allergy sufferers: the warmer winter weather in Germany means the Hazel pollen season has kicked off early, researchers at Leipzig University Hospital have announced.

Hazel pollen wave begins early in Germany

Despite being in the middle of winter, those with pollen allergies may already be starting to sniffle. According to allergy researchers at the University Hospital in Leipzig, these sniffles aren’t cold symptoms, but rather a sign of allergy season hitting Germany early in 2023.

On the roof of a hospital, an electronic pollen monitor has been assessing the air in the German city for the past few years. Researchers have found that the annual period where nature grants allergy sufferers respite from pollen drifts is narrowing. “The plant kingdom is waking up early,” Regina Treudler, head of the allergy research centre at the university, told Frankfurter Allgemeine.

So far, it is Hazel and Alder pollen which have been detected in the German air this January.

How to best quell your winter allergy symptoms

Though Hazel and Alder pollen were the first to be detected in 2023, allergy sufferers are often not just allergic to one type of pollen. Normally, there are a series of triggers throughout the spring and summer months. Hazel, Alder and Birch are followed by grasses, Ambrosia and Ragweed, for example.

Treudler advises those affected to keep a diary of their symptoms, which makes it easier to effectively treat sniffles and itchy eyes. Treating the symptoms using nasal sprays, allergy tablets or eye drops that can be bought in a pharmacy, should suffice.

Thumb image credit: Jacqueline van Kerkhof / Shutterstock.com