The doctor named the differences between allergies to conifers and colds

Oleg Morunov, Ph.D., an assistant at the Department of Polyclinic Therapy at the Institute of Clinical Medicine at the Pirogov University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, said that installing a Christmas tree, whether alive or artificial, can provoke an allergic reaction, which is often mistaken for a cold.

In an interview with the Health Mail on Monday, December 22, he explained that winter spruce can cause an allergic reaction for several reasons at once. In a living tree, mold is the main danger: there may be many mold fungi on the bark and needles, which begin to actively release spores in a warm room.

Irritation can also be caused by coniferous resins with a characteristic aroma and pollen from other plants that have settled on the branches outside. Artificial spruce is also not always safe: plastic can release volatile chemicals, and household dust and dust mites accumulate on the surface during storage.

Symptoms of a "New Year's" allergy usually appear a few hours or days after the tree is installed and include runny nose, sneezing, stuffy nose, itchy and red eyes, cough, sore throat, skin rashes and in rare cases difficulty breathing. Such manifestations are often mistaken for a cold, but with allergies, as a rule, there is no fever and body aches.

Fir trees are noticeable: Russian-style Christmas trees have become the most important trend of the season

Candies and garlands of sheep are used as decorations.

On December 16, doctor Alexandra Fileva, in an interview with RIAMO, explained the dangers of needles and plastic. Live coniferous spruce can cause allergies not because of the wood, but because of the mold that develops on the bark during storage and transportation, as well as because of resins and terpenes with a pungent odor that irritate the respiratory tract. Artificial Christmas trees are also unsafe: during storage, they accumulate dust, dust mites and mold spores, which, when installed, actively enter the air and provoke allergic symptoms.

On December 14, Maria Zolotareva, Candidate of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Biotechnology and Industrial Pharmacy at RTU MIREA, warned about the dangers of a live Christmas tree for health. According to her, there may be bark beetles, mold and allergens in a live Christmas tree.

In November, allergist Vladimir Bolibok warned that artificial Christmas trees could provoke allergies. The reason is plastic, for a while such a tree smells of plasticizer, RT clarifies. In addition, a lot of dust accumulates on plastic wood during storage, the website writes kp.ru .

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