Allergy woes continue as dry weather to prevail through Thursday
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The ongoing dry water pattern is conducive to enjoying the great outdoors but it’s a concern for allergy sufferers as pollen continues to accumulate.
According to the National Weather Service, dry conditions will prevail through at least Thursday. The next chance of rain from a cold front associated with a low pressure system is expected to pass through the day on Friday, although forecasters do not yet have a handle on precipitation amounts.
And that’s a problem for allergy sufferers at the Jersey Shore, where pollen counts are currently “high,” according to pollen.com. The site lists maple, juniper, and poplar trees as the top allergens.
Allergy season began a few weeks sooner than usual, allergy specialist Dr. Leonard Bielory told NewsWorks last month. The reverse was true last season, when the delay of warm weather caused several varieties of trees to release pollen at the same time.
Last May featured the worst allergy conditions in a decade, Bielory told NewsWorks last year.
Dr. Catherine Monteleone, an allergist at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, advised reducing your risk of pollen problems by closing your windows and staying inside in the morning when pollen counts are the highest.
“Wear sunglasses so the pollen is not getting into your eyes as much. Come in after you’ve been outside, change your clothes, take a shower, get the pollen off of you,” she said in a NewsWorks report last year. “Those kind of things can help … and starting medication. There are lots of over-the-counter allergy medications to try. And if that doesn’t work, then you can see your doctor.”
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NewsWorks’ Phil Gregory contributed to this report.
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