Brace Yourselves – Pollen Is Coming

Allergy season has gotten worse over the years, in fact, allergists have been warning us that this allergy season is predicted to be longer and more severe than allergies seasons in the past.

In this article, we are going to be talking about pollen allergies, what is pollen and how to deal with them.

Pollen is a fine powdery substance that comes from the stamen of flowering plants. Pollen consists of pollen grains which are male microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce sperm cells. The transfer of pollen grains to the female reproductive structure is called pollination and it could be mediated by the water, animals (insects mostly), and air currents. Pollen that causes allergies is those dispersed by air currents. There are two types of pollen, one that causes pollinosis – nasal allergy and the other specifically caused by grass pollen commonly known as the hey fever.

Allergy seasons vary by region and different weather patterns and they usually come in spring. But, there are places, such as Florida, where pollen season lasts during the whole year, such places are commonly known as „perennial pollen states“.

If you are interested, you can look at the list, of spring allergy capitals of 2018, that the asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has compiled.

Because pollen is finely structured, it can be easily inhaled as it comes in contact with your nose and mouth. When pollen reaches the mucosal tissue of the nose, lungs, and eyes it causes common allergic reaction symptoms such as runny noses, sneezing, itchy eyes, watery eyes, itchy throat, and congestion, so you can barely make it through the day without coughing, sniffling or itching your eyes out.

To deal with the pollen you should do the following things:

1. Follow the pollen forecasts, for pollen count information
2. While driving close your car windows
3. Turn on the AC in your car
4. Close your home windows
5. Install a HEPA filter into your AC
6. Use central AC with air filtration
7. Wipe pets off with a towel before they enter your home
8. Keep your HVAC system clean
-change your filters
-clean your condensing unit
–visually inspect your HVAC system
9. Avoid being outside from 5 am to 10 am
10. Wash your hair more frequently