A new study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology headed by King’s College London and Imperial College London, shows promising results for seasonal allergy sufferers, particularly those who struggle with hay fever.
While knowing the pollen count in the air is familiar—and a practice that’s been commonplace here in the U.S. for years—it hasn’t always been so. It wasn’t until 1929 that Oren C. Durham published the first issue of Journal of Allergy. This was the initial national atmospheric pollen survey completed in the USA.
Now, switching on one’s phone and checking the pollen count is something many allergy suffers do regularly. However, this new study from King’s College London and Imperial College London shows that a better method may be to study airborne grass allergen levels.
The study, published in January of this year, cites that measuring these levels rather than pollen counts may be more beneficial for hay fever sufferers. Why? Because grass allergen levels are more consistently associated with hay fever symptoms than grass pollen counts, the study notes.
The results of this study are promising for allergy sufferers—particularly those with hay fever symptoms—moving forward.
Reference:
King’s College London. “Measuring grass pollen allergens instead of grass pollen count will help hay fever sufferers.” ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240108202031.htm (accessed March 4, 2024).
