Pollen Season on Hold, FOR NOW!

If you are a hay fever sufferer, then chances are right now you are breathing as well as you have all year. That’s because we are in between pollen seasons.

Back in spring, as trees emerged from their winter dormancy, the first spurt of tree pollen dashed onto the scene by the Ides of March. March 15 was indeed a rough day for Julius Caesar and tree pollen sufferers. In the dampness of a wet spring, sunny and warm days around the tax filing season sent trees into a pollinating frenzy. Those tears in your eyes on April 15th were not just from owing uncle Sam, but also from reactions to oak and maple pollens.

By late April peak, pollen counts crested around two to three thousand grains per cubic meter (100 is high). But trees were about to run of pollinating gas as the calendar turned into May and by Cinco de Mayo, levels tailed off dramatically. By then trees were fully foliated and had all but pollinated themselves out. Now here in late July-early August, only trace levels of tree pollen linger into late summer.

Of course, trees are only one of the triple threat of spring-summer-fall pollens. By Memorial Day weekend parades in Grayson and Ironton were jammed just as grasses were turning into the pollen villain of the season. With daily counts running in the 50-75 range, anyone who had a grass allergy and was playing around a golf course or doing some lawn mowing had to beware. I should know as I do have some grass pollen reactions on occasion. A raspy throat, dripping nose and watery eyes are the worse I ever get.

Fortunately, the pollen producing factories of grasses shut down for the season by July so folks who lined the streets of Ripley for one of the area’s biggest and best parades or took min the Mountain State Arts and Crafts Fair at nearby Cedar Lakes had nothing to sneeze about!

So a nice 4-6 week lull in pollens is on-going as we await the final leg of the 2008 pollen season.

Up next, warming up in the pollen bullpen, ragweed is the most dreaded of all pollenators. As nights grow longer and days shorter in mid August ragweed plants will begin to pollinate up a storm. Since ragweed is the most allergenic of all pollens, those who suffer from ragweed allergies tend to have the worst reactions of the year. I use August 10th as the approximate start of ragweed season (+ or – a few days) with an early September peak in time for Portsmouth River Days. The season wanes by the first day of fall, but in a warm autumn with a late frost, ragweed can be a factor as late as Columbus Day (as it was last year).

So take a deep breathe and enjoy. The air right now is as pollen free as it has been/will be.