What Is A High Pollen Count?
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High Pollen Counts
Pollen are tiny particles released from trees,
flowers and grasses and are light enough to be transported in the air.
Their mission is to land on other plants to fertilize them, but many never
reach their target. Instead they enter our bodies, through our nose and
throat - triggering hay fever in those allergic to the pollen.
A high pollen count, is when there is lots of pollen floating in the air. This tends to be seasonal, as plants only make pollen at certain times of the year. Weather reports often contain pollen alerts. Forecasts (predicting the pollen count in the days ahead) are really just informed guesswork based on the amount of pollen collected at specific sites earlier in the day, along with the time of year, the temperature and rainfall over the previous few days. At best, pollen forecasts are only as good as the weather forecast. However, a forecast can be useful in deciding when to start taking antihistamines to prevent hay fever or when to increase your asthma preventer medication.
Pollen Alert In the U.S. the American Academy of Allergy Asthma
and Immunology (AAAAI), can send you email alerts on pollen counts. Next:
How to avoid pollen at home.
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