I have seen Bradford Pears (Pyrus calleryana) blossoming for the past 3 days. I can smell them too as I drive along Batesville Road. Most people think Bradford Pear trees release pollen that causes springtime allergies. Actually this is almost completely false. The flowers do produce pollen, true. But over 99.9% or the vast majority of allergy disease-causing pollen comes from other trees, such as oak, maple, birch, and cedar, in the Greenville, S.C. area. I should know. My office has the only NAB-certified office in South Carolina. I've have been tracking the pollen counts since 2000. Pear pollen has never been seen in the counts. Why? Pear tree pollen is spread by bees, not the air currents. An article by Kosisky, Marks and Nelson, published in the March 2010 issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, detailied the pollen counts in Washington, D.C., from 1998-2007. No mention of Pyrus species pollen was made. Incidentally, I'd like to praise the authors for their prolonged and detailed work. This is most definitive study of pollen for an area that I have ever read. I doubt a study of this detail will ever be done again. It's GOOD!!
While I'm writing, remember that Bradford Pears are considered by many to be invasive plants. In other words, they look nice from March to May, but actually they are otherwise a nuisance. I dislike them.
By the way, what do you call the study of pollen? Palynology.
I read that some people choose to plant trees based on the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale. A google search comes up with OPALSTM. Actually, the name is OPALS with a TM for trade mark. Thomas L. Ogren has been quoted as saying he devised the Scale and that it is being used by the USDA. Searching the USDA's and the US Forestry Service's websites, nothing came up for Ogren, OPALS, OPALSTM, plant allergy scale. This is the first I've ever heard of this concept and his book. As we change the environment, it's not a bad idea to simply replace what we've destroyed or displaced. Think if it as being environmentally neutral.By the way part 2, the peak of the tree pollen season is usually during the second week of April. So for the sufferers out there, start taking your allergy meds preventatively now!
That's it for today...Your Allergy Dude
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7 comments:
I appreciate all the info above, but then, what is the cause of such terrible allergic reactions happening right now? The trees you listed all still look dormant, so why did I have to seek emergency room treatment yesterday with all the symptoms to include 102 deg F temperature? I thought it had to be the flu, but today I am completely recovered (and indoors). Please consider advising people to close their car windows and use internal car recirculation choice to avoid pollen. I opened my windows after my car got hot while parked at Costco.
I too have had the pollen stuffy nose the past two days. No fever. Something in the air indeed. I live in Dallas/Fort Worth. Any thoughts??
If it's not the pollen it's definitely something with the tree. I get swollen lymph nodes and headaches when within 5 feet of the tree. Also, closing car windows is a huge help!! I love being outdoors and am wondering if a pollen mask would work, but if it's not pollen then we need to know what it is. I am also not allergic to any other trees and have had allergy testing for common outdoor allergies and nothing showed up there either.
Every time my daughter goes near one her face and neck break out in hives and becomes super itchy!
I wish the Bradford pear tree never existed! We didn't have them in my city until my town started a "beautification" program. They planted these trees all over the place. Since that year, whenever they bloom, my sister and I suffer horrible misery when they bloom. My nose swells shut, I get swollen lymph nodes, headache, fatigue, my ears swell shut and I can't breathe. When they finally quit blooming, I can breathe again. Someone come cut these trees down!
I too have not had a problem with other trees. But the Bradford turn white and suddenly I'm in major sinus pain, my eyes feel heavy and swollen, and I get a sore nose and throat. If I'm in one of the rare areas without any I'm fine. And once the flowers drop I'm also fine. I don't get it.
It happens between the Bradford Pear and the Cherry Blossom trees. The BP in bloom doesn't bother me. I often wonder if there is a remnants from the tree at the end of the blossoms. I have had an allergy test. Only what I already knew. Cats and dust/mold. So what is it!
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