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Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department Environmental Public Health Air Quality |
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology estimates that about one in six people suffer from some type of seasonal allergies. Allergic reactions can trigger serious health problems, including asthma. This statistic means that approximately 33,000 people in Lincoln, NE, suffer from allergic symptoms.
If you suspect you or someone you know has an allergy, consult your physician or an allergy specialist to be tested.
Allergy, Allergens, and You
Most people with allergies already know that they have them. Most can tell you within a few days of when they will likely experience symptoms. However, parents of newborn babies might not know their children are allergic. Sometimes people will move into the Lincoln, NE, area from other parts of the country or state. Perhaps they have had allergies all their lives but did not know it because the plants to which they were allergic did not grow where they lived or the conditions did not produce a significant amount of pollen.
If someone begins to show some of the signs of allergy, that person might be having an allergic reaction. A physician can conduct a series of tests to determine if the person has an allergy, what that person is allergic to, and how sensitive the person is to that particular allergy trigger.
The information on these pages will help you better understand allergies and the causes of allergic reactions. You can click on the links below to find the information you need.
For more information order the Museum Notes "Ragweed's Revenge" or "Something to Sneeze At" from the Nebraska State Museum, 307 Morrill Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0338 or go to the web site at http://www-museum.unl.edu/pubs/notes/botnotes.html for ordering information.
More information about allergies and allergens can be found at http://www.aaaai.org/nab/index.cfm?p=faq and http://www.immune.com/allergy/allabc.html.
Allergens (See Glossary)
An allergy is a reaction to any of a number of allergens:
Many people are also allergic to cockroach droppings and insect stings. Certain foods and medicines can cause allergy.
Pollen is used by plants to fertilize each other and grow new plants. Plants release pollen into the air. The wind carries the pollen to other plants or to human noses.
Some pollen sticks to the body of a carrier. The carrier can be the fur on an animal, hair, the feathers of birds, the bodies or legs of insects, or human clothing. This type of pollen is seldom carried on the wind (airborne). The grains of these pollens are sticky and larger than airborne pollen. Grains that are carried by animals seldom remain in the air long enough to cause allergic reactions.
Most pollen grains cannot be seen with the naked eye. Airborne pollen grains are extremely tiny. The smallest can be carried on the wind for many miles.
Allergic reaction symptoms include watery eyes, or sneezing and runny nose (called rhinitis (See Glossary)). Other symptoms include itchy, watery eyes, and burning palate and throat. These reactions can be mild or severe.
Perhaps the most common allergen is pollen which causes seasonal allergic rhinitis.
The severity of a person's reaction depends on how sensitive the person is to a particular type of pollen and how much pollen has been released. The plants release different amounts of pollen during different months. Someone who is allergic to a particular tree pollen might suffer during March but show no allergic symptoms the rest of the year.
Even within a month some days are worse than others. The charts provided in these webpages will assist allergy sufferers to identify when they are most likely to have reactions and how severe these reactions might be.
Seasonal allergic rhinitis, sometimes called "hay fever," is caused by an allergy to the pollen of trees, grasses, weeds or mold spores.
Different plants release their pollen at different times of the year. This type of allergy is called "seasonal" because the allergens are released only during certain seasons. In Nebraska, seasonal allergic rhinitis usually begins as early as March and ends in October with the first frost.
The pollen allergens in Nebraska can be grouped into three categories based on the type of plant and the months during which they release pollen. These groups are:
| Trees (notably elm, juniper, and maple) | March through June |
| Grasses | May through September |
| Weeds | May through September |
This chart is based on over 12 years of data collected by a team of specialists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and research conducted by Dr. Margaret R. Bolick. It shows the average percent of days during the allergy season when pollens are likely to be in the air. The lines indicate the average range of low (See Glossary), moderate (See Glossary), high (See Glossary), or very high (See Glossary) levels of pollen by plant type.
No one can predict exactly which days will be high pollen days. Nonetheless, armed with the information provided in these charts, allergy sufferers and their families will be able to anticipate when are the most likely times to take precautions.
Some good sources of information about regional pollen counts are http://www.aaaai.org/nab/index.cfm?p=allergenreport&stationid=33 and http://biology.nebrwesleyan.edu/pollen/.
You can also view detailed charts for plant (pollen) type and month.
Plants
The pollen allergens in Nebraska can be grouped into three categories based on the type of plant
and the months during which it releases pollen. Click on the type of plant below to find out when
the pollen it produces is most common.
Months
Click on the month below to find out which pollens are the most common for that month.
| Allergens | A trigger that causes an allergic reaction. |
| Dander | Dead skin flakes from animals with fur. |
| Rhinitis | Called "rhinitis," from the Greek word for "nose." |
| Low | Individuals who are extremely sensitive to these pollens will experience symptoms. |
| Moderate | Many individuals sensitive to these pollens will experience symptoms. |
| High | Individuals with any sensitivity to these pollens will experience symptoms. |
| Very High | Almost all individuals with any sensitivity at all to these pollens will experience symptoms. Extremely sensitive people could have severe symptoms. |
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