Every sixth Norwegian gets allergy around Christmas time

OSLO, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Almost 660,000 Norwegians in the country of five million people show allergic reactions in period around Christmas, newspaper Aftenposten reported Monday.

Allergic reactions can vary from reactions against pets, Christmas trees, spices, dust, Christmas plants, perfumes to detergents, showed a survey conducted by the research agency YouGov for the portal The Allergy Guide (Allergiguiden).

According to Norway's Asthma and Allergy Association (NAAF), combination of chemical cleaners, Christmas spices, scented candles and fire together with dusty decorations from last year, moist and mold from Christmas trees, pollen from Christmas and perfumes all contribute to allergic reactions.

"This can become a strong cocktail. There may be cross allergies and other things that allergy sufferers react to and that they are not aware of," said Lene Gunvaldsen from NAAF.

Christmas allergy is often misunderstood as a common cold, news agency NTB reported.

Although the symptoms may be the same, Gunvaldsen reminded that in case of the absence of fever there may be reason to suspect that allergy is the cause of the symptoms. Enditem