Pine pollen is one of the common causes of sniffling, sneezes and dirty car windshields around the greater Robeson County area.
                                 David Kennard | Robesonian

Pine pollen is one of the common causes of sniffling, sneezes and dirty car windshields around the greater Robeson County area.

David Kennard | Robesonian

<p>A local automobile coated with spring pollen in the afternoon of Feb. 28, most likely tree pollen.</p>
                                 <p>Copeland Jacobs | The Robesonian</p>

A local automobile coated with spring pollen in the afternoon of Feb. 28, most likely tree pollen.

Copeland Jacobs | The Robesonian

<p>Pine pollen is one of the common causes of sniffling, sneezes and dirty car windshields around the greater Robeson County area.</p>
                                 <p>David Kennard | Robesonian</p>

Pine pollen is one of the common causes of sniffling, sneezes and dirty car windshields around the greater Robeson County area.

David Kennard | Robesonian

LUMBERTON — As February turns to March, and the dismal fogs of late winter are pushed aside by the glaringly bright blue skies of early spring, a heavy dusting of pollen can be found on the automobiles and doorknobs of Robeson County.

The recently warm and gentle weather may not be universally welcome, as the spring increase in temperature is accompanied by a correspondent increase in the detested allergen pollen. The FDA says allergies are body’s reactions to substances it has identified as invaders, like pollen.

According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, allergic rhinitis, street name hay fever, seasonally strikes one out of every six Americans, and according to the Center for Disease Control in the year 2019 was the cause of 4.1 million visits to the doctor. According to the NIEHS, symptoms of allergic rhinitis include sneezing, congestion, and watery eyes, not unlike the symptoms of the similarly loathed common cold.

Unusual increases in temperature may cause allergies to intensify, and Robeson County has been experiencing very warm, pleasant, and balmy weather over the past few weeks.

“Research suggests that weather changes can affect allergy symptoms. Extreme weather events, such as heat waves and thunderstorms, have been associated with outbreaks of allergic asthma, especially in patients suffering from pollen allergy,” states the NIEHS page on pollen.

According to the NIEHS, the relationship between pollen and climate change is all bad news, as NIEHS has funded studies which have turned up such dismal findings as climate change causing higher pollen counts, pollen seasons getting longer by anywhere from thirteen to twenty-seven days, and and more hay fever.

Pollen is so mundane an irritant allergy suffers can forget just how bizarre pollen’s purpose and effect on humans is when taken in its entirety. According to the NIEHS web page on pollen, plants create pollen as part of their reproduction process, and that pollen is produced by trees in the spring, grasses in the summer, and weeds in the fall, which should gladden the hearts of allergy sufferers across Robeson County. The same web site states tree pollen is unleashed on the South as early as January.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources posts daily pollen counts for Raleigh. These divide pollen sources into grasses, trees, and weeds. This pollen count also includes the number of pollen grains observed, which types of pollen are most prevalent, and the severity of the pollen.

From Feb. 26-27, tree pollen- specifically elm and pine- was ranked as high, and grass pollen as low, with no weed pollen observed.

Last year, tree pollen increased greatly from March to April, yet none of the tree pollen peaks rivaled the immense increase in of weed pollen in May. According to an article on the NC State Extension website, ragweed pollen is the bane of late summer, an annual plant that begins growing in early spring, and is a significant cause of allergy problems.

The NIEHS has a guide of allergy prevention strategies. Allergy sufferers are advised to remain indoors from 5:00-10:00 a.m. Heavy rains wash away pollen and are good times to explore the outdoors, when the atmosphere is less hostile.

Unfortunately, there may be instances when the allergen follows allergy sufferers inside, as according to the NIEHS, pets and people can bring pollen inside structures, in which case a pile of tissue boxes may become necessary to stem the fluidic flow from the nasal cavities.

According to the NIEHS, the symptoms of allergic rhinitis can be combated effectively with FDA-approved treatments like antihistamines and nasal steroid sprays. Addressing the problem in the long-term can be accomplished with the use of immunotherapy, states the FDA website, such as allergy shots. The FDA website explained allergy shots containing gradually increasing dosages of the offending allergen until the individual becomes immune.

Copeland Jacobs can be reached via phone at 910-416-5165 or via email at [email protected]