While people practice social distancing, Atlanta is being painted yellow as the amount of pollen reaches record numbers.
On March 20, 2012, the highest pollen count ever recorded was at 9,369 particles per cubic meter, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
This year, on March 29, Atlanta reached a pollen count of 8,918 pollen particles per cubic meter. This is the second-highest count recorded in history, according to Atlanta Allergy & Asthma.
According to its website, Atlanta Allergy & Asthma is the “largest allergy practice in Georgia.” With 15 trained physicians and 11 practitioners, Atlanta Allergy & Asthma works to provide patients with information regarding allergies, asthma and respiratory conditions.
Robin Panethere is the director of marketing and development at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma. She has worked closely with the physicians at 18 locations for special medical practices for ten and a half years.
According to Panathere, pollen count at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma began nearly 25 years ago for internal purposes. The count would “help the doctors correlate patient symptoms with what was in the air” at the time.
“Someone would go into the pollen count facility, bring down the sample off way up high on the roof, bring in the slide, prepare the slide, literally sit under the microscope and identify and count the pollen space,” Panathere said.
Now, with the rotorod, the pollen count is forecasted as either low, moderate or high for the public.
Pollen is measured by a scientific instrument known as a rotorod sampler, according to Panathere.
The instrument is placed on the roof. Then, using “silicone grease-coated clear rods,” the air is tested for 24 hours and then later examined for the number of pollen particles covering the rotorod. This number is then converted into units of grains per cubic meter of air. Pollen counts depend on factors including wind, rain and temperature.
The increasing number of recorded pollen can be credited to the current weather conditions and global warming, according to Climate Central. As carbon emissions increase, trapping more heat into the atmosphere, the above-average temperatures in the beginning months cause trees and certain flowers to begin the process of pollination.
Along with allergenic purposes, the count has advanced the knowledge of the role pollen plays in nature.
Dr. Stanely Fineman, a physician at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma, finds it important to analyze pollen count data.
“Keeping up with the daily pollen count and adjusting outdoor activities accordingly is important for people with seasonal allergies,” Fineman said.
Individuals with asthma and seasonal allergies, also called hay fever, will experience effects of the increased pollen. Around 35.9 million people in the U.S. have hay fever, but the growing amount of pollen can affect everyone.
“The yellow stuff that everybody associates with pollen is actually pine pollen and pine pollen is not really allergenic, it’s an irritant, the molecules are too big to penetrate the membrane,” Panathere said. “Even those of us that aren’t allergic, with an IgE allergic response, can be irritated when the pollen count gets really high and the pine pollen particles are in the air because it becomes an irritant.”
Pollen is released in the air by grass, weeds, trees and other plants. According to Atlanta Allergy & Asthma, pollen grains threaten the immune system. Mistaken as a virus or pathogen, the immune system quickly reacts by rejecting pollen grains through coughing or sneezing.
Sometimes, the immune system overreacts by producing antibodies that “attack” the pollen grains. Further exposure to the antibodies causes a person to become allergic.
According to Atlanta Allergy & Asthma, some symptoms include:
- Increased asthmatic reactions
- Runny nose
- Nasal congestion
- Cough or scratchy throat
- Decreased sense of taste and/or smell
- Itchy, watery, and/or swollen eyes
- Facial pain due to sinus pressure
There are many plant species that disperse pollen throughout the air, however, the following list includes the most common causes:
- Birch pollen
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- The most common allergens during the spring.
- One birch tree can produce up to 5 million pollen grains that travel up to 100 yards through the air.
- Grass pollen
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- Grass is the primary trigger of pollen allergies during the summer months.
- It causes some of the most severe symptoms, but allergy shots and tablets are highly effective in relieving symptoms of grass pollen allergies.
- Oak pollen
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- Prevalent during the spring.
- In comparison to the pollen of other trees, this pollen is mildly allergenic but remains in the air for a longer period of time.
- Ragweed pollen
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- Most common allergens between late spring and fall months and can survive through a mild winter.
- These plants are the “main culprits” of allergies among weed pollens.
There are several pollen allergens that result in different symptoms and a specific allergic reaction. For example, being allergic to ragweed pollen does not necessarily qualify a person to be allergic to oakwood pollen.
Visit Atlanta Allergy & Asthma for more information.
