Have you ever wondered where the pollen counts from the news come from?

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), there are about 85 designated pollen counting stations in the United States. Pollen is first collected from the air with a pollen collection machine. Then it is stained with a solution to make it easier to see and examined under a microscope to identify it. This information is shared with local news stations to give you the local pollen forecast.

Tree pollens often have unique features that make them easy to identify under a microscope. For example, maple pollen looks like a beach ball! Not every pollen looks unique, though. All grass pollens look exactly the same, so we can only say if grass pollen is out, not what kind it is.

There are no machines that can reliably identify every type of pollen, so pollen counts must be performed manually by certified pollen-counting specialists. This makes it difficult to expand pollen-counting services to more locations. To see where your closest pollen counting station is, go to the AAAAI Pollen counting website: https://pollen.aaaai.org/#/

Published in September 2023 Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: https://doi.org/10/1016/j.anai.2023.04.002