High Pollen Counts Follow Mild Winter and Warm Weather

Columbus Dispatch

4/22/06

The thousands of Ohioans who’ve spent the past few days wiping runny noses and watery eyes might wonder if allergy season started early this year. It has. Grass pollen registered "high" yesterday, according to the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency in Dayton. There’s a lot of tree pollen floating around, too, and allergists say the time is right for flowering trees to drive people nuts. Combine that with the grass and nature has offered a double-allergic whammy. "There’s something about central Ohio that’s different this year," said Dr. Charity Fox, an allergist with Ohio State University Medical Center. She said grass pollen registered as "absent" in Louisville, Ky., yesterday and in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Fox speculated that a relatively mild winter encouraged heavy flowering on trees and an early start for lawns.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/health/health.php?story=dispatch/2006/04/22/20060422-A1-00.html