The Southern Willamette Valley is experiencing very high pollen counts which are affecting people with allergies and even those without.
Dr. Kraig Jacobson is with Oregon Allergy Associates in Eugene. He takes daily measurements of pollen from grass and trees. The grass pollen was the highest of the year so far Monday morning at 890. Anything above 200 particles per cubic meter of air is considered very high. Jacobson advises staying inside to avoid exposure.
“Be indoors. Air conditioning removes about 80% of the pollen,” he said.
Jacobson said the reason the Eugene area experiences such high grass pollen is because the majority of rye grass seed is cultivated in the Willamette Valley.
“When we have all these thousands of acres in an enclosed valley. We’ve got the coast range to the west, we’ve got the Siskiyous to the south and the cascades to the east,” he said. “And what we had this weekend was a pretty steady breeze out of the north to the south so the valley’s acting like a catcher’s mitt. And the pollen builds up to a very high level.”
Rain early in the season can cause grass pollen to fragment into small pieces which can make allergy and asthma symptoms worse. Jacboson said if we get a bigger rain, that will bring relief from the pollen. Also, if there’s a heat wave of temperatures in the mid 80s or higher, that can also reduce the grass pollen in the air.
During grass season, high levels of pollen are typical through early July.
