The new Washington
Jump to CWG's
Outside now? Radar, temps
Follow us on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
Tree pollen starting to spike
It's been a while since we've had to think about pollen. But it's that time again.
Writes microbiologist Susan Kosisky in Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Daily Pollen Report:
If anyone has been sneezing and sniffing of late...there is good cause. Before the rain yesterday and probably due to the warmer weather on Sunday, we had a large amount of cedar/cyp/juniper pollen in the air. Not so much this morning with the cooler temperatures....
The tree count is HIGH at 567.41 gr/cubic meter with cedar/cyp/jun pollen comprising 539.94 grains/cubic meter of the total count. Alder, birch, elm, maple and pine were also observed.
It is not unusual for cedar/cyp/jun pollen to been seen in such high amounts during the latter part of February-early March. In 2002, February 20th had a count for cedar of 905.87 grains/cubic meter. Highest daily count for cedar in early March was 1334 grains/cubic meter on March 7, 2005.
So is it Claritin, Zyrtec, or Allegra???
By
Jason Samenow
| March 1, 2011; 6:30 PM ET
Categories:
Health, Latest
Save & Share:
Previous: PM Update: Sunny Wednesday warm-up
Next: Forecast: Warmer Wednesday; weekend rain?
Posted by: Hyperlocal | March 1, 2011 6:41 PM | Report abuse
Ahh, the love hate relationship with spring begins...
Posted by: Lively | March 1, 2011 7:19 PM | Report abuse
Holy crabapples, I was down for the count on Thursday. Thought I had caught a nasty cold...
Then realized what time of the year it was. Got on some heavy duty meds and woosh, all better!
Posted by: whitneyuevans | March 1, 2011 7:19 PM | Report abuse
OMG i remember march 7th 2005. it was like 70 degrees and the next day the temps dropped really quickly with a morning rain ending as snow from dc westward. the most amazing and quick weather switch i have ever seen in my life
Posted by: peg248 | March 1, 2011 7:31 PM | Report abuse
Local honey from Singer's Glen, VA, for me...as long as I can put up with it. Gotta stay off of the antihistamines if I can.
Posted by: --sg | March 1, 2011 8:43 PM | Report abuse
March 1st and we are already talking pollen. $#%^. I HATE SPRING. Bring back winter.
Posted by: mamory1975 | March 1, 2011 9:22 PM | Report abuse
I have always considered March to be my least favorite month. It's damp, rainy, chilly and windy. It's one of those "transition months" like September. I guess the only good thing that comes out of it is March Madness...
I wish we could just skip straight to April...
Posted by: BobMiller2 | March 1, 2011 9:50 PM | Report abuse
This is interesting to me because I've always been affected around this time of year, and now I know exactly what kind of pollen it is. Thanks CWG! And Susan Kosisky. :)
Posted by: SpeedLimit186000 | March 1, 2011 10:48 PM | Report abuse
I used to suffer from allergies. Stubborn me didn't go to the doctor but then it got out of hand. So I went and the two drugs she gave me work.
If you are suffering, there is help!
Posted by: jaybird926 | March 2, 2011 4:13 AM | Report abuse
Its just the snow's revenge on all the snow haters out there. Me, I have an intense dislike for the heat of summer.
Posted by: TBAlexandria | March 2, 2011 8:06 AM | Report abuse
My mouth has definitely started to itch, but spring is worth it, in my opinion. My allergies aren't debilitating, but the itchy mouth drives me mad! If anyone has any home remedy ideas that work, I'd be glad to hear them. The drugs don't always work that well for me.
Posted by: aks8218 | March 2, 2011 9:57 AM | Report abuse
More allergies...I think it's the soft maples rather than cedars, cypress or junipers. Every spring I seem to have an allergy peak whenever the silver maples and red maples start to bloom. Silver maples are strong now. Red maples are a week or two away.
Posted by: Bombo47jea | March 2, 2011 12:43 PM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.
Zyrtec. Gets the job done and I pretty much know what it's going to do to the rest of my metabolism.
I had a feeling that cr*p was out there.