News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A good rain might be the best hope for allergy sufferers who have been hit hard this spring by a high pollen count from Sisters' juniper trees.
"As soon as it rains, that'll help a lot," said Deanna Muir, pharmacist with Sisters Drug Company. "A lot of people are really miserable right now."
Rainfall, expected by mid-week, will wash pollen from the trees and out of the air, bringing welcome relief from an epidemic of watery eyes and runny noses.
Some Sisters area residents suffer from allergies to juniper pollen every year, but this year's storm of yellow pollen clouds has spread the misery to people who usually escape unscathed.
"A lot of people who haven't had problems before have had it," Muir reported.
Unfortunately, according to Muir, once a sensitivity to pollen has been established, allergies are likely to recur.
Muir said antihistamines are the best weapon to combat allergy symptoms. Over-the-counter products may work, she said, although they may also cause drowsiness. Prescription antihistamines may be more effective and they do not cause drowsiness.
Dr. May Fan at the Sisters office of Bend Memorial Clinic said that starting Friday, the phone at the clinic "has been ringing off the hook" with allergy sufferers seeking relief.
She said the onset of allergy attacks was very abrupt and has really laid people low.
Like Muir, Dr. Fan said prescription drugs may provide effective treatment without drowsiness. She said she is discouraging people from getting cortisone shots because of possible side effects.
She advised severe sufferers to stay indoors, wear a mask if they have to go out and to do any jogging or athletic activity in the morning before the wind picks up.
Clouds of pollen are misery for allergy sufferers, but conditions are great for junipers. Spreading pollen is, after all, how trees reproduce.
Brian Tandy, a silvaculturalist for the Sisters Ranger District said the recent warm spell in Sisters set the stage for a pollen explosion.
"This little bit of warm weather has allowed (the junipers) to mature up quickly and start letting go of their pollen," Tandy said.
According to Tandy, this year's junipers are loaded with male pollen cones which dried out and opened up all at once last week, giving off clouds of pollen.
Ron Halvorson of the Bureau of Land Management said he wasn't sure if the pollen cones actually "explode" or if the pollen just lays so lightly on the trees that any breath of wind stirs up a cloud.
And to the large segment of Sisters' population living with runny noses and watery eyes, it hardly matters. They can only wait for the yellow stuff to go away. Of course, ponderosa pine will start giving off pollen in May.
The allergic may take some small comfort in Tandy's prediction that the cone crop on the ponderosa pines is about normal.
Pollen should be no worse than usual.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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