Alert sounded for pollen count peak in capital

Islamabad: With the spring pollen season set to begin in Islamabad, the weathermen have alerted allergy patients to a high possibility of the airborne particulate counts peaking in the middle of the current month.

According to officials at the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s Pollen Monitoring Centre, the region’s pollen season will set in during the first week of March, reach peak during the second fortnight of the month, and subside by the middle of April. Islamabad has a high concentration of pollens mostly generated by eight plant species, including paper mulberry, acacia, eucalyptus, pines, grasses, cannabis, dandelion, and alternaria.

Of these pollens, around 97 per cent come from paper mulberry with their concentration reaching the extreme limits of around 40,000 particles per cubic meter of air during the March-April spring season when the shrubby tree’s flowers have peak bloom to the misery of the sufferers of asthma and respiratory diseases, who sneeze, sniffle and cough and have watery eyes and running nose whenever they step out. The PMD says it monitors the airborne pollens in the capital city all through the year through special devices installed in H-8, E-8, F-10, and G-6 sectors and forecasts the shooting trend of pollens on the basis of the prevailing meteorological conditions and by using statistical techniques.

It warns that people suffering from asthma and respiratory diseases will experience serious consequences due to a sharp increase in pollen concentrations.

For the relief of pollen allergy patients, the PIMS and Polyclinic, the city’s major government hospitals, have allocated special beds, stocked medicines, and announced free diagnosis and treatment.

Besides, the National Institute of Health’s Allergy Centre, also provides allergy testing and immunotherapy and management services besides coordinating with Islamabad’s administration for the successful holding of free allergy camps. It has also planned to begin a special campaign informing the people about the ways and means to prevent or ease allergy-related problems.

According to Dr Wasim Khawaja of the PIMS, the hospital has set up a special pollen allergy centre in the new emergency with a pulmonologist examining visitors around the clock. He also said the PIMS had reserved 40 beds for pollen allergy patients and would increase the number of beds if the need arose.

Dr Sharif Astori of the Polyclinic said the hospital expected a large influx of allergy patients in few days and therefore, it had deputed additional staff members in the emergency department and installed nebulisers in different wards to cater to the visitors. He also said the hospital had enough medical supplies for the seasonal allergy sufferers.

The doctors advised the people, especially those allergic to pollens, neither to go to gardens, forests and jogging tracks in green areas nor to keep flowers and plants indoors.

While warning the air has high pollen concentration between 5pm and 8am, they asked allergy patients to use masks, keep windows closed, and change clothes and take shower on homecoming to wash away pollens.