Pollen Covers Ga. With
Allergy Plague
Provided By: The
Associated Press Last Modified: 4/4/2003 9:50:59 PM
ATLANTA (AP) -- There's no escaping the
blanket of pollen covering everything with a coat of yellow -- even
people without allergies will suffer because there's so much of it.
Pollen levels in Georgia are higher now than they've been
since 1999, partly because the rain stopped right when trees and
grasses started to bloom. The sniffling, coughing, dry throats and
watering eyes are leaving many people praying for rain.
"It's unbearable how thick it is," said David Blanke of
Atlanta, who was sitting in Centennial Olympic Park on Friday. "As a
result, I'm trying to spend less time outdoors."
Relief may
be on the way this weekend, as showers and thunderstorms are
forecast to sweep through the state and wipe away much of the
pollen, said Gary Beeley, a meteorologist with the National Weather
Service in Peachtree City. There was a chance of showers Friday
night, followed by more rain Sunday or Monday.
"It certainly
should wash some pollen out of the area and off the trees," Beeley
said. "It should kind of clean things up a bit."
The Atlanta
area had the highest pollen count in the state Friday -- 4,777
particles of pollen per cubic meter of air, which is more than
double last year's peak of 1,544. Other Georgia cities also had high
pollen counts.
The pollen people see -- the yellow pine
pollen -- doesn't cause many allergies, said William Dolen, a
Medical College of Georgia professor who works in allergy
immunology. The real culprit is the invisible, microscopic pollen
from oak, sweet gum, sycamore and birch.
Some experts
recommend staying indoors and turning on the air conditioning, but
Dolen said that's no way to live -- not in the South, where people
are already enjoying beautiful spring weather.
"We like going
outdoors. The idea of being a recluse is not good," he said. "You
have to go to work and go to school, so you're going to be exposed
to pollen. ... All you need to do is talk to your doctor, and they
can get you on medications that can make you feel better."
For the most allergic people, like Lisa Nelson, no treatment
will work. She said she got three allergy shots twice a week for 10
years before giving up. Now she's just decided to live with
it.
"This month and next month are my worst for sure," she
said, while taking her allergy medicine, Claritin, in the park. "My
doctors always told me I should live by the beach."
A flood
of people have been coming to the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic
for help, said Dr. Kathleen Sheerin. Most people can get help from
over-the-counter medicines or get help from their physicians, and
allergists can aid those with more severe cases.
"People who
don't live in Atlanta don't realize what we go through here," she
said. "When you have to use windshield wipers when you get in your
car in the morning just to see ... We have so many trees here in
Atlanta, it's the city in the forest."
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All
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