Pollen levels are on the rise

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - All summer long the main pollen concern comes from grass. Grass pollen peaks between May and Labor Day each year depending on how the weather acts. So if you’ve been having allergy issues over the last few months, it’s likely due to different types of grass pollen.

Right now the grass pollen levels are up in the medium to even high categories. Of course any time it rains or storms the grass pollen levels temporarily drop. If your location happens to dodge the wet weather, I’d bank on pretty high grass pollen levels for the next several weeks.

Grass and mold pollen are running a bit high of late and will continue to do so. — Grass and mold pollen are running a bit high of late and will continue to do so.(WSFA 12 News)

Once we push into late August the grasses become less problematic. That’s good news! Unfortunately there’s another type of pollen out there that takes over as the dominant one starting in late August.

That would be weed pollen. Specifically ragweed pollen.

Ragweed pollen usually soars in late August and remains a big problem through mid-October. Like grass pollen, ragweed counts on any given day are heavily affected by the weather -- rain vs. sunshine, windy vs. calm, cold vs. hot, etc.

If sunny, dry, warm, and breezy days occur then the amount of ragweed pollen will be high to very high on the scale. On rainy, cloudy, cool, and calm days the amount of ragweed in the air will be less.

We are heading into the time of year when ragweed pollen becomes a bigger issue. — We are heading into the time of year when ragweed pollen becomes a bigger issue.(WSFA 12 News)

With the pollen forecast calling for medium to high levels most days over the next week, there are some things worth keeping in mind to alleviate allergy symptoms. This is especially true for those who suffer from grass and/or weed pollen.

Some of those things include:

Avoiding the outdoors as much as possible between roughly 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Spending time in the air conditioning
Washing clothes as soon as you are done wearing them outdoors
Leaving shoes outside
Having medications ready to use
Vacuuming the house every week with a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter
Avoiding certain foods and herbs with proteins similar to those found in ragweed

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