Spring in Eugene is synonymous with warm weather, sunshine, barbecues and seasonal allergies.
While many students hang out on their porches, sunbathe, hike, or throw Frisbees with friends, others stay inside or wear a face mask if they do go outside because the tree and grass pollen floating in the air aggravate their allergies and can trigger an asthma attack.
“What happens right now, rain washes pollen down a little bit and kind of gives people a false sense of security,” said
Dr. Richard Buck of the Buck Allergy and Asthma Clinic in Eugene. “What will happen next week is the large grass fields to the north of us will probably pollinate if it gets warmer and dryer.”
It’s not uncommon to have students come in with more severe allergy symptoms than they experience at home, Buck said.
In addition to the common outdoor allergens – tree, grass and weed pollens – indoor allergens, like dust mites, mold and animal dander, also aggravate people’s allergies.
Several allergy organizations monitor Eugene’s air quality and provide pollen counts for a specific day. Daily pollen counts are recorded at www.aaaai.org/nab/index.cfm?p=pollen, and Lane County’s air quality is monitored at www.lrapa.org.
Most places in the world consider 100-200 particles per cubic meter of air to be high, but in Eugene, counts can change overnight from 20-30 particles per cubic meter to more than 800, Buck said.
Over the last three months in Eugene, 16 days have had tree pollen counts at or above 200 particles per cubic meter, and four of those days had counts more than 400 particles per cubic meter, according to data from the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology Web site.
Eugene has a long tree pollen season beginning in January continuing until the end of June, Buck said. Grass pollen becomes more of a problem beginning in May extending through June, Buck said.
“The highest grass pollen counts in the world happen from about
Memorial Day until around exam time,” Buck said.
One of the main reasons Eugene experiences such high grass pollen counts is because of the commercial grass farms north of the city in Linn County, which the Albany Chamber of Commerce’s Web site refers to as the “grass seed capital of the world.”
Linn County is the largest U.S. producer of ryegrass seed, according to the Web site.
Avoiding allergens by staying indoors is the best way to avoid irritated eyes, a runny and congested nose and sneezing, Buck said.
Bright, sunny, windy days can particularly aggravate a person’s allergies because the conditions areconducive to producing and spreading pollen, Buck said.
Keeping the windows shut at night and the air conditioning on also helps reduce the amount of allergens indoors, Buck said, while taking a shower before bed removes pollen and dust from hair and can reduce symptoms.
Allergy medication or allergy immunotherapy, a series of shots to increase a person’s tolerance of and immunity to allergens, are also effective treatments, Buck said.
“I think the most important thing that people need to remember is asthma is associated with allergies,” Buck said. “People come in with increased cough and chest tightness and need to be treated for asthma in addition to allergies.”