Pollen Spike's Head Start Is Something To Sneeze At

For allergy sufferers, the stuffed head, runny eyes and sneezing started earlier this year.

And this may not be what the sniffling population wants to hear, but the peak of oak pollen season is still a week or two away, said Roger Fox, a professor with the University of South Florida medical school who specializes in allergies.

"It may get a little worse the next couple of weeks," he said.

Oak pollen normally begins showing up in late January or early February and disappears about the second or third week in April.

But this year, pollen counts around the Tampa Bay area were at the upper end of the moderate range and reaching the high range by the middle of February. They have stayed there.

"This year seems longer. It started earlier, and looks like it will last longer," said Gary Hellermann, a research scientist at USF.

The normal spike in the oak pollen season hits about the first or second week in March, but counts reached levels that resemble the peak period by late February.

Allergy sufferers are getting a double dose right now, said Mary Jelks, a retired physician who specialized in allergies and now does pollen counts from air samples.

Normally, laurel oak starts the season then gives way to live oak. This year for some reason the laurel oak was slow to bloom, not starting until live oak was in full blossom.

That has resulted in counts of 1,500 pollen particles per cubic yard of air. A normal count, still considered high, for this time of year is in the 800 to 1,000 particles.

"It's very high right now," Jelks said.

For Keandra Tate, who has suffered from allergies most of her seven years, a more potent oak pollen season is bad news.

"It's worse this time of year," said her father, Andre Tate.

The Tampa girl was at the USF Medical Center today to see whether doctors could offer some relief.

"Anytime she goes outside, she gets fatigued very fast," her father said. "She just needs to be normal."

The lack of rain plays a major role in the amount of pollen floating around. Rain in early March cut pollen levels in half, but they quickly recovered. It hasn't rained since.

Rain also washes away pollen that coats everything and is stirred up by any breeze for another assault on allergy sufferers, Jelks said.

There are nine species of oaks in the Bay area, one following the other in producing pollen. Cedar and bayberry trees are also adding to the pollen, but oaks are the main culprit.

"There's a continuous flow of pollen in the air for three months," Fox said.

AVOIDING ACHOOS

There are things you can do to reduce the suffering of pollen season:

Stay indoors as much as possible with the windows closed.

Drive with the car windows up and air conditioning on.

Surgical masks or special allergy masks can help.

Wear sunglasses to reduce exposure to your eyes.

Avoid raking leaves, which stirs up pollen.