Allergies

[KBoater]

This week is the first time ever I had an allergy reaction to pollen. I believe that it is oak pollen. It looked like a blown dandileon seed. Am I correct about this?
I'm told it is because of the extreme dry weather. Is the pollen index high?

[CanisLupusArctos]

For telling one type of pollen from another you'd have to ask a plant expert, which I ain't! I know a few things about them but I can't tell the difference between the invisible pollens. All I know is that pine pollen is generally too big to make people sneeze.

As for dry weather, I do know that makes pollen counts higher. Pollen is the same as any other dust. Given a dry windy day, it will fly. Rain washes it out of the air, and when the weather is humid the pollen granules (and anything else blowing in the air) tend to get engulfed by the micro-water droplets that make up humidity. That's actually what starts the formation of raindrops/snowflakes: Dust or similar particles in the air, collecting moisture until they're no longer particles with moisture on them, but water droplets with a piece of dust in them.

This particular year you may feel the suffering from allergies even more because the air has been so dry (we've been stuck in the wintertime pattern.) These dry Canadian air masses can dry out your passages which can lead to a lot of irritation or even catching a cold. Even though it's almost summer, follow the December rules (i.e. drink a lot of water, rest, etc.) because the irritation caused by the dryness of this weather pattern can leave your passages open to germs. In the medical setting you may notice patients whose oxygen tubing passes through a small bucket of water to add moisture so their passages will stay moist.