Allergy season is in full bloom in Marin County

Marin residents may experience a severe allergy season due to a particularly wet year. If patients have anything to say about it, we are already there.

“The most accurate measure is the patient,” says Dr. Schumann Tam, an allergist at Marine Health Medical Center in Greenbrae. “Patients are my count.”

Pollen counts measure trees, weeds, grasses and molds. The fine powder that fertilizes plants is carried by wind, birds and insects.

The American Society for Allergy, Asthma and Immunology tracks Bay Area pollen counts at its San Jose and Pleasanton sites. San Jose readings on Sunday showed high concentrations of tree pollen – orange levels in color-coded risk ratings. or scored green in a color-coded risk assessment.

Tam said this year is likely to be worse than last year. Pollen counts are extremely high this spring, causing constriction of the airways and potentially triggering asthma, a condition that makes it difficult to breathe.

Pollen influences usually bear fruit in April and May. This year, Tam said he started watching it in March. By the end of June, Tam said the situation should calm down as plants and trees stop pollinating.

Each year, pollen counts vary based on environmental conditions prior to spring flowering.

Pollination by grasses and weeds, especially ragweed and bromgrass, is likely to affect people at risk for allergies, says Michael Bogart, garden manager at the Marine Art and Garden Center in Los Angeles.

“The rain only cheers them up. The hills are now usually brown, but they are all green,” he said. “I can’t wait for grass season. It takes two weeks of sunny weather for these weeds to open up and pollinate more.”

Bogart said the “biggest culprits” that produce tree pollen are pines, which are not yet producing in an impactful way. I said I would, but the rain delayed the flowering.

“All the pollen on the trees is calm now,” he said. “It’s been consistently calm since mid-March.”

The American Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology said in a report released on April 11 that the effects of climate change, rising temperatures, longer growing seasons and declining air quality are also contributing to earlier and longer pollen seasons. said it may have contributed to

The report cited research from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture that found the pollen season started 20 days earlier and lasted 10 days longer than in 1990, with 21 percent more pollen.

“More pollen means more days with asthma and allergy symptoms,” Academy president Kathleen May said in the report. “As allergists, we watch our patients sneeze, wheeze, and drip.”

According to the Academy, 50 million people in the US have allergies. His more than 10 million of them are related to pollen.

People with pollen allergies may experience symptoms such as sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, watery eyes, itchy throat and eyes, wheezing, and coughing when breathing pollen-rich air.

Treatment may include allergy shots or tablets prescribed by your doctor, or over-the-counter medications.

Tam recommended that people take precautions to avoid contact with pollen if they are at risk for allergic symptoms or asthma. I said you should use Windy or hot conditions are likely to exacerbate symptoms, he said.

“This year is going to be an interesting year,” he said.

Tam said some of his patients sought treatment for allergies this season but were instead found positive for mild COVID-19 cases.

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference,” he said. “If you have a sore throat, check to make sure it doesn’t spread to other vulnerable patients.”