With the bipolar weather of Atlanta finally teasing us with sunlight and warmth, so too does the annual and unavoidable approach —pollen. The yellow powdery stuff that coats your car overnight is the true essence of spring. Even though pollen is essential to make flowers bloom and plants reproduce, it also manages to hinder human existence.
Most people aren’t affected by pollen, but the ones that are recall the terrible reactions their body has when exposed to it. “I’m dying every day,” says Tyler Rheaves, a third-year writing student. “I have to wear a face mask just to step outside.”
Lauren Cobbin, a second-year photography student. “In short, pollen makes me throw up.” As the pollen count continues to reach record highs, even people who usually aren’t allergic to pollen might feel itchy and congested.
These allergic reactions can be controlled by taking particular care when dealing with the exposure of pollen in the environment, such as opening windows, traveling outdoors and taking warm showers to drain away any pollen.
Other methods to ease the allergic reactions would be to eat raw honey, which can act as an allergy shot, have a humidifier indoors to increase the moisture content that counteracts pollen or to consume over-the-counter antihistamines tablets that can minimize its effects, but won’t cure your allergy.
In case you want to know about the pollen count for the day, this website has the daily numbers. With Atlanta’s weather taking an unexpected turn with heavy rain through the weekend, there should be an expected decrease in the amount of pollen in the air.
