Vital people in Longford check out pollen tracker during hot spell - Asthma Society

It is vital people in Longford check out the Asthma Society of Ireland's daily pollen tracker during hot spell.

Summer 2018 is shaping up to live long in memory with what feels like endless sunshine and now there is even talk of a heatwave to radiate across Ireland this week. However, excitement levels amongst the 3,851 people in Longford with asthma and who also have hayfever are at lowest levels, as pollen reaches its highest possible peaks - triggering debilitating hayfever symptoms and possibly serious escalations of their asthma.

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Sarah O’Connor, CEO of the Asthma Society of Ireland, said: “For those who suffer from hayfever, summer 2018 has left them feeling truly miserable, with pollen levels particularly high for weeks now.  These unusual pollen counts are as a result of our prolonged cold winter and extended sunny and hot start to the summer.  These conditions combined have meant that many plants had been delayed in flowering and then released their pollen all at once rather than at normal slower rate.”

“We are looking at a perfect storm this week - grass pollen levels generally reach their peak at the end of June and the coming week’s weather is only increasing that level. Already our pollen tracker shows pollen levels are at what we consider to be their highest over the weekend in some areas in Ireland and it is set to continue and to escalate. People really need to take care and manage their hayfever symptoms and for those who also have asthma, they really need to manage their health.”

Help is on hand to manage hayfever from the Asthma Society of Ireland with their Pollen Tracker on asthma.ie. The tracker provides an update of pollen levels across the four provinces each day, and a predictor of the pollen levels for the following day, making it a daily must-see to manage hayfever and asthma throughout the summer. The information pack about allergic rhinitis (hayfever) is an invaluable piece of information for those who need to know more about managing hayfever and asthma and our gardening booklet is a huge help to anyone wanting to enjoy the outdoors this week.

"Our Pollen Tracker allows you to identify days when the pollen count will be high in your area, giving you up-to-date and essential information. In addition to that, the hayfever management materials on our site can put you in the driving seat to offset the annoying symptoms of hayfever and any potentially serious asthma attacks. While people can be quite passive about asthma and hayfever and sometimes accept feeling very unwell as their normal summer experience, some straightforward measures keep these health problems in control and keep people with asthma safe,” added Sarah O’Connor.

For asthmatics, hayfever can cause their asthma symptoms to flare up and may cause an asthma attack. An asthma attack is a medical emergency and can be fatal. One person dies a week in Ireland as a result of their asthma. 

Also read: Longford councillor calls for extension on Glas Hay Making measure as good weather takes hold of the country