The Yellow Calamity: 14 More Days of Dust In Prague Say Experts

Allergists say we’ll be wiping our windshields and noses for a while longer; here are a few tips for relief from the sniffles

Expats.cz Staff Jason Pirodsky

Written by Expats.cz StaffJason Pirodsky Published on 03.05.2018 15:04:58 (updated on 03.05.2018) Reading time: 1 minute

It’s being called the “yellow calamity” (žlutá kalamita) by the Czech media and yesterday jokes about Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s rapeseed crop being to blame for the presence of the pesky allergen dominated social media.

No matter what you are calling it (pollen, or pyl in Czech, being the proper name) or what or who’s to blame (pine and spruce trees are the culprits, not the Prime Minister), the biggest question for allergy sufferers is: “When will it end?”

According to a report in today’s Metro, we could be wiping our windshields and noses for yet another two weeks.

Allergist Romana Kochrdova told the publication, “The problem will [last] another fourteen days. In the days that follow, grass will begin to bloom.”

Kochrdova attributes the yellow dust that’s coating cars, houses, windows, and gardens to springtime pollens and the rapid rise of warm weather, leading everything to blossom at once.

A Prague pharmacist reported that every third drug being sold is an allergy treatment and that there has been a huge uptick in requests for information on allergies.

So how to get some relief if you are sniffling more than usual?

Over-the-counter antihistamines available in the Czech Republic are listed here; some doctors even recommend wearing a mask during the high-pollen season, things like washing your hair every night and using nasal sprays can also help.

In the meantime, you can manage the pollen in the air with two helpful websites (in Czech) which forecast the presence of dominant allergens:  www.pylovasluzba.cz and pyly.cz/pro-alergiky

Watch a cell phone left in a Prague park become covered with pollen in just under an hour here.

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