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Published Tuesday, February 07, 2012 in Opinion

Those warm temps are giving us an early spike in pollen count

Editorial

Sunday's high temperature of 70 degrees had Coweta County residents getting outdoors with their short sleeves and shorts. It was a Super Sunday -- weather-wise in our area.

The spring-like temperatures also have been a cue for trees and some early blooming flowers to do their thing. We're already getting an early taste of buds and blooms. With those come an increase in pollen count.

In late January the pollen count in the metro Atlanta area was in the single digit numbers -- very low. In the past 10 days while we have experienced the warmer temperatures with daytime highs in the mid and upper 60s, the pollen count has been creeping up.

On Monday we received the daily pollen count from the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic and the count had soared to 261. That's a very high total for this time of the year.

Already there are a half dozen tree pollens in the air -- alder, birch, cedar, elm, maple and oak. In addition there is grass pollen in the air.

With the rise in the pollen count comes an allergy tip from the clinic for those who take medication to control their allergies during the pollen season: If you have outside plans, take your allergy medication before you go outside. Do not wait until you are experiencing symptoms before taking the medication.

Our advice would be if you have questions about your allergy medication and the pollen season, contact your physician.

By the way, temperatures are forecast to be more seasonal this week -- particularly at night. High temperatures this week should be in the 50s and low 60s with nighttime lows falling to near freezing or below by the weekend. A Saturday night low of 26 is forecast. That may nip some of those early buds.

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