• Health promotion
  • Health tips
  • Hay fever

    • Suffering from hay fever?

    Temperatures outside are slowly beginning to rise and the first rays of sunshine tempt us to venture outside. But not everyone can look forward to the good weather. Hay fever sufferers can hardly be expected to welcome the prospect of streaming eyes, itchiness and a runny nose.

    According to the Swiss Allergy Centre (aha!), around 1.2 million people in Switzerland suffer from a pollen allergy. The first hazel and alder pollens are already in the air. The production of wind-borne pollen is boosted by mild sunny weather. Although the problems associated with pollen are moderate at present, we would like to show you now what you can do against hay fever.

    The following tips will help you to alleviate the symptoms:

    • Wash your hair before you go to bed.
    • Change your sheets frequently.
    • Do not hang your laundry out to dry outdoors.
    • Wipe the kitchen and the dining and living room tables frequently with a wet cloth.
    • Air your home for a brief period only, but do it properly. When it rains for longer periods, however, you can air your home more thoroughly because the rain will have "washed" the pollen out of the air.
    • Do not use fans to cool your rooms because they will only stir up any pollen that is lying on the floor and spread it through the entire room.
    • Mow the lawn regularly.
    • Wear sunglasses in windy weather to protect your eyes against airborne pollen.
    • For more information about the pollen count in Switzerland visit: pollenundallergie.ch.
    • The Medical University of Vienna also provides an overview of pollen count data for Europe. You can find out more at: polleninfo.org.

     

    27.02.2019

    In the event of further health-related questions, SWICA customers can contact the santé24 telemedicine service free of charge on +41 44 404 86 86. A telemedicine practice licence allows santé24 physicians to provide additional medical services in cases that are suited to a telemedicine approach. SWICA customers can also use the BENECURA medical app to carry out a digital SymptomCheck and receive recommendations about what to do next. During a subsequent phone call with santé24, customers can decide for themselves whether to release their information from SymptomCheck to santé24.