High Pollen Count Has Many of Us in Low Spirits

For some, that layer of fine, yellow powder on their car in the morning is the unwelcome harbinger of itchy throats, runny noses, watery eyes, sneezing and congestion.

It seems to be just pouring from the trees at an alarming rate, silently floating through the air, coating the ground, plants and people below, providing no hope for escape for townspeople and their tissues.

The region has had a tree pollen count in the "high" or "very high" range for for the past four weeks, according to weather.com, which receives its pollen data for Conn. from the Allergy Associates of Fairfield County P.C., the Allergy Center of Norwalk, Phillip Hemmers, MD, and Waterbury Hospital Health Center.

Why the high count? Gregory Anderson, a Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut, has his theories.

"I haven't actually seen any data, but the other plants that are flowering this year, like the azaleas and spring flowers and daffodils all look very good," Anderson said. "Last winter was very hard, but very good for the plants because they had a thick blanket of snow so the ground was protected from too deep a freeze. I suspect that's why we're having such a good season of flowering and that would also effect the trees; there would be more pollen from the trees."

Anderson, who specializes in plant pollination, also said that it's just that time of year.

"Right now is the time of year when the Evergreen trees are producing high amounts of pollen, " Anderson explained. "Pine trees and Spruce trees and all the Evergreens are putting their pollen into the air. All of them are wind pollinated. The pollen is released into the air and there is no precise deposition, it just floats through the air until the grain finds a female cone."

His advice to those wheezing and sniffling and sneezing? Stay inside or wait for a rainy day to wash the pollen out of the air, because, while the Pine, Spruce and Hemlock pollen season are coming to a close, the Hickory and Oak will start to flower soon after.

Staying cloistered isn't a realistic option for most though, especially for kids who go outside during their recess at school. Allergic reactions to pollen can get pretty severe as Michelle Fall, the registered nurse at McAlister Intermediate School, explained to Suffield Patch.

“I sent three home yesterday. Poor kids, it was painful to watch them. This is my third year here and it’s been bad. I tell them to give their eyes a bath,” Fall told Suffield Patch. She said her remedies include over-the-counter eye drops, cold compresses and salt water gargle.

Suffield Patch also reported that many allergy Web sites estimate that the tree pollen season should come to a close by the end of May, but that the grass and weed season follows. Appropriately and effectively medicating allergies during the coming weeks can be made easier with the help of an allergist or pediatrician.

There are dozens of remedies for allergies ranging from at-home panaceas passed down by Mom to vaccines administered by doctors.

Dr. Jeffrey Factor of the New England Food Allergy Treatment Center told the Hartford Courant, "Allergy shots are probably the closest we have to a long-term, sustained treatment for allergies. It can build up the level to where, hopefully, symptoms are minimized. The benefits are maintained long after that."