Pollen
By editor | March 9, 2008
Most people recognize pollen as that fine-grained, greenish yellow powder that dusts windowsills and cars parked under trees in the spring. But there are many types of pollens, seen and unseen. Pollens are tiny male cells of flowering plants that fertilize female plant cells so seeds can form. These plant pollens are most likely to cause allergies. They rely on the wind for fertilization and are generally very fine, dry, and light, so they get into the air easily.
Pollen can travel hundreds of miles, so you do not have to live near its source to have symptoms. When eight-year-old Billy started sneezing and wheezing, his parents didn’t suspect a pollen allergy, for example, because they lived on the fifteenth floor of an apartment building, high above the trees and twelve blocks from the nearest park, in the middle of the city. Yet pollen turned out to be the villain that triggered Billy’s reaction.
Pollen season depends on where you live. The two main seasons, spring and fall, vary according to local climate, trees, grasses, and shrubs. Pollen appears during the growing seasons of trees and grasses. In the South, grass pollen season lasts longer than grass season in the North. Tree pollen develops just as leaves start to sprout. In the North, early spring marks the beginning of pollen season, while it may start earlier or extend later in the South. The amount of pollen produced also depends on local vegetation. For example, ragweed grows most prolifically in the Midwest and Northeast, so these regions have the highest ragweed pollen levels.
Pollen counts can also change over time in various areas of the country. In fact, the deserts of the Southwest used to be fairly pollen-free, but they now have a rampant pollen problem because many people moved there from other, greener parts of the country and planted trees, grasses, and shrubs that are thriving in the warm climate and giving off tons of pollen.
Pollen counts are generally classified as low, moderate, high, and very high. If the counts are low, only individuals who are extremely sensitive to these pollens and molds will experience symptoms. If the counts are moderate, many people will have symptoms. If the counts are high, most individuals will show symptoms, and if the counts are very high, almost everyone with any sensitivity at all to these pollens and molds will experience symptoms.
The following table shows pollen count classifications. Keep in mind, however, that pollen counts reported by TV; radio, Web sites, and newspapers usually lag a day or two behind the current day’s count.
The allergy season depends largely on weather conditions as well as location, but pollen problems in general start in February or March and run through October. The only real break from pollen comes in cold winter weather. As a general rule, allergies will be better-less bother-some-on rainy or windless days and worse when the weather is hot, dry, or windy.
It is difficult to avoid airborne pollens, but some simple tricks do help. To bring fresh air into a room in the spring and fall, use an air conditioner instead of a window fan because the air conditioner will filter out most pollen particles. Children should wash their hands and faces when they come in from outside and bathe before bedtime to remove pollen from their skin. And one other tip: laundry should not be dried outdoors where it can accumulate pollen.
Tagged under:allergy cause allergies grass pollen season grasses pollen allergy pollen counts ragweed pollen levels shrubs trees
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