Channel 11 out of Atlanta is running an article that starts

Tuesday’s pollen is the worst it has been all year long as levels have almost tripled since Monday.  The latest pollen count is 2258, which puts the count into the extremely high category.  The worst contributing factors are Ash, Birch, Mulberry and Oak pollen.

Pollen count is typically the number of grains of pollen per cubic meter of air, and 2258 is very high.   WebMD’s map of Today’s Overall Pollen Across the Nation shows Georgia as having a high pollen count, and half of Florida as currently having a very high pollen count.  They show no pollen count in Connecticut and Weather.com is reporting no pollen in Middletown.  However, Pollen.com is forecasting medium high pollen for today and medium pollen for tomorrow.

Perhaps this illustrates a point that the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology was trying to make in their press release, Consumers Beware: There Is a Difference between Predicted and Actual Pollen Counts  They note that

“Predicted counts reported on many websites may be based on pollen data from previous years and general weather forecasts…Pollen counts from the NAB stations are based on actual counts, which reflect the real day to day weather events.”

Whatever the pollen count really is right now, you can be sure it will climb and medical professionals around the state are offering up suggestions ahead of time.  Today, Yale New-Haven Hospital sent out a news tip, Rough winter can mean early onslaught of allergy problems

They advise patients to have a plan in place to pre-treat symptoms before they occur, as allergy season generally starts weeks before tree pollen is visible.

Yesterday, in our patient files, we posted tips on how to prepare for allergy season, with different tips for different types of allergies.  We provided information to help people determine if they are dealing with an allergy, a cold, or a sinus infection, and information on over-the-counter medications and other medical approaches for dealing with allergies.

You can be sure that the pollen is coming, but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer.  Check out the Patient Files for ideas on how to make this allergy season better.