Despite the advantages associated with spring, the increase in temperature, the blooming of flowers and other environmental changes at this time of year that give rise to beautiful landscapes, the truth is that this season is also known by another name. : that of allergies ..
An ailment that affects more than 20% of the population and that has not stopped growing in recent years. A pathology that causes our immune system to overreact to an apparently innocuous external agent. And although there are allergies of very different types, the most frequent has to do with grasses.
Fortunately, technology is on our side. Today we collect some of the best apps to combat spring allergy ..
Pollen Control
Developed by the Almirall pharmaceutical laboratory, Pollen Control is an app that will make it a little easier for us when it comes to knowing the pollen levels in the environment of our town. The data come from specialized centers of the Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC).
It also allows us to carry out a thorough record of the symptoms that we are experiencing, something that is appreciated if we are thinking of going to a specialist, and some key details in the diagnosis of the type of pollen responsible for our ailment. In fact, knowing the latter is essential. The tool uses the data to create a personalized history and make a report that you can send to your doctor..
The daily monitoring section is the most complete, and it even lets you include the medication you have taken that day, selecting it from among several products. Likewise, it has a specific section for the different pollens in question, in which you will find information on those that most affect the population, those that are most present at that time and the like. Another of its great advantages is that it allows us to customize alerts that warn us when the risk is greater.
Pollen levels
Pollen Levels, as the name suggests, also gives us the opportunity to quickly check the pollen levels in our community. It does so based on data from the SEAIC –and its 85 measurement stations scattered throughout Spain– but also with those from the Junta de Castilla y León, Junta de Andalucía, Junta de Extremadura and the Community of Madrid, so that it is somewhat more accurate in these areas.
It takes into account up to fifty kinds of pollen, gives us the opportunity to select one of the stations as the default, and includes a glossary and GPS location to save us the step of entering our location. In addition, and to give you an idea, when accessing each one of them, a specific graph appears, as well as the pollen levels by type, with the corresponding measurement date at the bottom. Information that is presented in a clear and homogeneous way.
R-Allergo
For its part, R-Alergo is somewhat different. Yes, because even though its objective continues to be to make life easier for those who suffer from allergies, it does so in a more original way. Specifically, it is an app designed by the Research Institute of the Hospital La Fe de Valencia and the Polytechnic University of Valencia, capable of tracing a personalized route to avoid the most dangerous areas, choosing the “ healthiest route for your respiratory allergy ” .
A very interesting and somewhat different starting point whose start-up will only require the information from the GPS of our mobile phone and the introduction of the destination, from which point the utility will start working. The idea? Reduce allergic manifestations due to exposure (mainly rhinitis and asthma) in order to prevent.
Other of its virtues are embodied in the option of personalizing the route, introducing specific places and others, and also the advice section, where we can find all kinds of useful information that will help us fight against the pathology. The tool also takes into account the parameters entered in the user profile section. Of course, at the moment it is limited to the city of Turia .
Pollen Alert
Finally, Pollen Alert focuses on the levels of pollen present in the air during the day and allows you to configure specific notifications that warn you when they have risen too high. The goal is for you to take precautions in this regard. It also works with GPS data , which it uses to establish our location and allows us to select the closest measurement station and the group of allergens to which we are most sensitive.
In addition to the meter and alerts, it has a very interesting section on types of allergies and another in which it offers us some more specific suggestions and prevention measures; something very useful for those who have begun to suffer from this ailment.
Images | iStock: razyph