Allergy season hit NYC earlier than usual this year, making its presence well known back in March–and those of us who have been literally nonstop sneezing up a storm can attest to that. And as we officially hit peak pollen season it seems like allergy season isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
According to AccuWeather, this spring and summer is set to bring with it an “intense and prolonged” pollen season for large parts of the country, with three separate peaks in pollen.
So yes, we should all be prepared for the spring “symphony of sneezes and sniffles.”
According to US allergy experts, there are three types of pollens allergy sufferers need to be on the lookout for each year: tree pollen, grass pollen and weed pollen.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert notes that tree pollen is the first to come out–the phase we’re in now–followed by grass pollen in the summer and weed pollen in the late summer and fall.
And since people can have different reactions to each type of pollen it’s good to know the pollen count for each plant in order to help manage your symptoms–especially since AccuWeather experts are warning that it could be a bad year all around for allergies, which aren’t expected to let up until after the dog days of summer.
According to Gothamist, NYC’s only official pollen monitoring station is ran by Guy Robinson at Fordham’s Lincoln Center Campus. He records pollen counts during 24-hour periods and posts it on a spreadsheet once a week.
Pollen counts can largely vary day by day, and anything above 90 particles of pollen per cubic meter is considered high.
As of Saturday, May 11th, NYC’s particles of pollen per cubic meter was recorded at 108, though just a week prior on Tuesday, May 7th it was recorded at a whopping 911 pcm.
The predominant allergy agitators are currently Oak, Pine, Birch, Alder, Honey Locust, and Black Cherry trees.
If you’re an allergy sufferer Reppert suggests following these tips to mitigate the side effects:
- Take medicine before the issues begin
- Try and stay inside in the late morning and afternoon hours
- On high pollen days, air conditioning can help decrease pollen indoors
- If allergy issues are not handled by first-line allergy medicines, talk to your doctor about getting allergy testing done with an allergist
Additionally, the CDC recommends those with pollen allergies to shower and change their clothes after being outside and use high efficiency filters indoors.