Annual wave of pine pollen arrives again
It’s the time of year when puddles get rimmed with yellow and pollen covers vehicles parked outside.
Metservice pollen forecaster Dr David Fountain said the annual pollen release from pinus radiata was a phenomenon that occurred across New Zealand.
‘‘All of a sudden there’s an abundance of tiny pollen grains. Billions are released in every region in New Zealand – literally billions.’’
Pine trees dominate the Nelson area, with planted production forests covering approximately 100,000 hectares. Ninety per cent of the region’s exotic forests are radiata pine.
The forests produce pollen annually in late winter and early spring.
Crown research institute Scion estimates that a mature radiata pine can produce between half and three-quarters of a kilogram of pollen each year. It can sometimes be seen streaming into the air like a plume of smoke, or hanging over forests like a cloud.
Fountain said pine pollen could act as both an allergen and an irritant.
‘‘Although there are relatively few allergens per grain of pine pollen, pine pollen does create allergens that cross-react with grass pollen allergens. People that are allergic to grass later in the year (around Christmas time) will have a small reaction to pine pollen, too.’’
Beth Walterfang from Nelson’s Prices Pharmacy said people seemed to be coming in earlier this year for pollenrelated health issues.
‘‘Normally, it’s later in the season that we get these high levels of pollen.’’
She said irritation from pollen seemed to often be worse in Nelson than in other areas of the country.
‘‘We have lots of people coming in saying that they don’t suffer from pollen in other parts of New Zealand but do in Nelson.’’
Walterfang said treatment for irritation from pine pollen depended on the person. ‘‘If they have eye-related symptoms, we’ll recommend eyedrops; if it’s nose-related symptoms, then a nasal spray.
‘‘We base our recommendations on what a person’s tried before and what they find the most effective. In general, though, if it’s really bad, we’ll recommend a generic antihistamine tablet, which tends to work for most people.’’