How Do You Know if You Are Allergic to Privet
Feb. 1, 2022
For more than thirty years, the Melbourne Pollen Count has provided daily grass pollen counts and forecasts during spring and early on summer. But, as well equally grass pollen, we've as well counted full pollen which includes the sum of grass and all the 'other' pollen.
Merely while most Melburnians are familiar with grass pollen and how it triggers respiratory conditions like hay fever and asthma, they are less familiar with 'other' pollen. We phone call it the 'other' pollen riddle because users sometimes enquire u.s.a. if they could be allergic to 'other' pollen. We don't know.
So, let's wait at Melbourne's pollen, both grass and 'other'. What's clear is that during September (and likely before) there is around 5 times more pollen in the air than at any other time. And information technology's mostly 'other' pollen. Even during November, when grass pollen levels are at their highest, there is often just as much if not more 'other' pollen flying around.
While identifying the primary types of 'other' pollen is technically fairly routine, answering the more fundamental question of which pollen types are potentially affecting the wellness of Melburnians is harder. This is because what we know about the health impacts of 'other' pollen mainly comes from overseas studies. Surprisingly few studies have been done in Australia.
Let's expect at simply iii of the more than widespread and mutual 'other' pollen types and what'due south known nearly their association with allergies.
CYPRESS POLLEN – THE Large I
Given the attention given to grass pollen, readers may be amazed to learn that cypress pollen is the most abundant type of pollen in Melbourne's air. To requite this some context, a bad grass pollen twenty-four hours is one when at that place'due south more than 100 grass pollen grains per cubic metre of air.
Only cypress pollen levels are often least ten times higher than this, commonly exceeding one,000 pollen grains per cubic metre of air. Cypress pollen comes from cone-begetting trees or conifers that belong to the Cupressaceae family. There are both native and not-native cypresses. The familiar pencil pine is a type of cypress. Junipers too belong to the Cupressaceae.
Figure i : 2021 pollen season showing grass pollen concentration in blue and 'other' pollen in green.
Cypress pollen is a known cause of hay fever worldwide and is the main cause of seasonal allergies in Japan. Although the types of cypress that crusade hay fever in Japan aren't widely grown in Commonwealth of australia, the species associated with cypress and juniper pollen allergies in Europe and north America are mutual here.
In that location's even a native cypress called Callitris that produces allergenic pollen. Associations between cypress pollen levels in the air and hay fever symptoms have too been reported in Commonwealth of australia.
MYRTLE POLLEN – A HOME GROWN FAVOURITE
Myrtle pollen comes from some of Australia'southward most iconic plants. Think of eucalypts, bottlebrushes, paperbarks, the listing is seemingly endless. Non surprisingly, myrtles are everywhere, in gardens, urban parks and of course in native forests. While birds and bees are the main pollinators of myrtles, the sheer number of flowers means that at certain times of the yr there's lots of myrtle pollen in the air.
Considering most studies of pollen allergies are done overseas, not much currently links myrtle pollen to allergies. However, those studies that have been washed found associations betwixt myrtle pollen levels and hay fever, and between eucalypt pollen and childhood asthma.
OLIVE POLLEN – THE HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE'Due south DARK SIDE
We all know nigh the health benefits of olive oil. Just before you tin get that olive oil, olive flowers first need to exist fertilised by olive pollen.
Olives belong to the Oleaceae, a family of copse, shrubs and vines. While we recall of olives every bit coming from the Mediterranean, some are native to Commonwealth of australia - in fact, there's even a native olive, Olea paniculate.
Just most olive pollen comes from non-native plants such every bit olive itself, ash trees, jasmine vine, lilac and privet. Jasmine, of class, has the strongly scented flowers typical of plants that are pollinated by insects. Simply most plants in the Oleaceae are wind-pollinated and take unobtrusive flowers that don't attract insects.
Olive pollen is highly allergenic with pollen from olive orchards being a major cause of respiratory allergies in southern Europe. In northern Europe, it's pollen from the mutual ash (Fraxinus excelsior) that causes allergies. Because the allergens present in olive and ash pollen are similar, people from southern Europe with an allergy to olive pollen react to ash pollen when in northern Europe and vice versa.
'OTHER' POLLEN AND WHAT Information technology MEANS FOR A POLLEN COUNTER
Clearly, some 'other' pollen types do cause hay fever and fifty-fifty asthma, and others might, but we'd like to know more.
Finding relationships between levels of a particular pollen type and symptom scores reported using freely available smartphone apps similar the Melbourne Pollen app is i fashion of ameliorate understanding what the health impacts of 'other' pollen are in an Australian context.
But there's a problem. Because pollen counting is currently done manually through a very laborious process, it commonly simply happens at certain times of the year, like during the grass pollen flavour.
Counting pollen for part of the twelvemonth means we miss some pollen seasons entirely and capture only part of others.
Still, with support from users of the Melbourne Pollen app, the University of Melbourne recently invested in Australia'due south first automated pollen counter. This machine can count pollen 365 days a year and provide near existent-fourth dimension values of what pollen is in the air right at present.
Having an automatic pollen counter has several benefits, not the to the lowest degree of which is the power to keep rail of all the 'other' pollen. We're hoping that with the extra information we'll finally be able to solve the 'other' pollen riddle.
For pollen forecasts, notifications and to participate in the hay fever symptom survey, download the Melbourne Pollen App available on the Apple App Shop and on Google Play . Our new subscription version of the App gives y'all access to a 10-solar day forecast for the 7 most common pollens leading to allergic reactions while supporting the important work of our team.
Source: https://www.melbournepollen.com.au/news-events/melbournes-pollen-riddle/
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