What is Super Pollen and Thunder Fever?

Hay fever is a worry for many people around spring and summer time but what if I told you that things could be about to get much, much worse.

Think pollen on steroids.
Imagine all those pollen particles splitting and doubling their misery… it sounds like something from a hay fever horror story.

And it’s real!

And coming to the air near you!

I got a phone call yesterday while sitting on the beach in Bournemouth from an unknown number. Ignored it. I’m on holiday so I don’t have to answer and it was probably a sales call. But they phoned again, so I relented, just in case, and it turned out to be a researcher for BBC Radio 5 Live asking me to be on their early morning programme the following day to talk about ‘super pollen’ and ‘thunder fever’.

All I had to write on was this tiny salt packet but of course I said yes, yes yes. I’d love to help out. When they said early they meant early – tune into 5Live and listen back to about 6.38am. I was on the Sunday Breakfast show with Sam Walker and Eleanor Oldroyd – resulting in the usual surname banter 🙂 I hope I didn’t sound like I had just been woken up by my phone ringing, because of course they decided they’d like to get me on air EVEN EARLIER so they called me before the first alarm had even gone off (yes I set three alarms just be safe)

So back to the important subject of hay fever.

I am well aware of the conditions that make pollen worse, being one of the approximately 10 million people in England who have hay fever, but why might we get super pollen and what on earth is Thunder fever?

Why are we getting super pollen and thunder fever?

Recent very dry weather have created something of a pollen breeding ground. The lack of rain has meant that fallen pollen is not absorbed so easily into moist soil and hasn’t been washed away. All those tiny billions of pollen particles are sitting around on patios, pathways and parklands waiting for the warm and balmy weather which will give them a new lease of life.

Thunder and lightening, forecast soon across England due to the humid weather, splits the pollen particles so the problem becomes much worse. Warmer weather coupled with blustery winds will blow those particles up into the air ready to settle in your airways.

Are you ready for pollen fever?

Are you quaking at the thought of Thunder Fever! I am!

What can I do stay safe?

You can never totally escape the pollen, but if you keep up-to-date with any nasal sprays and anti-histamines you usually take and make sure your asthma is well controlled you should be well equipped to weather this storm. But as we all know, there isn’t a widely available cure to hay fever, unless you can afford de-sensitisation treatment.

What you can do is take note of the perfect conditions for this kind of super pollen storm. It’s been dry so lots of pollen is lying around. Very little, if any, rain so none of those particles have been absorbed and washed away. The weather forecasts predict some lovely humid, warm and sunny weather and we are all looking forward to that, but those of you with hay fever should take care.

Thunder and lightening followed by dry and windy conditions could mean we are in for a real pea soup of pollen over the coming weeks.

Further reading

• You can read more about this phenomenon here: Super pollen to hit UK, according to allergy expert
• Allergy, Oral Allergy Syndrome or Lipid Transfer Protein?
• Almond Allergy #101
• Butekyo Breathing reduces the need for asthma inhaler

How has your hay fever been this year? How are you coping? Because it starts in January and last all year for me! LOL!

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels