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Pollen: Cedar, Oak 2018-2019

miguelito

By miguelito
in Daily Texan

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89735

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Flipped on the TV just now, and this is coming on one of our PBS stations (Q station)

https://www.klru.org/episode/episode_91802?data={"nolaRoot":"CTXG"}

an episode of Central Texas Gardner with the description of: Discover why Ashe Junipers don’t deserve the bad rap 

http://www.centraltexasgardener.org/2019/01/artistic-sustainable-design-mountain-cedar-love/

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Achoo! Do mountain cedars make you see red?

Hey, they’re just doing their job like other trees, grasses, and wildflowers!

Male trees produce the pollen. Females bear the edible blue fruits that also flavor gin. Some birds love them (minus the gin part) except when the fruits ferment. Then you’ve got a crowd of woozy beak tipplers. FUI (flying under the influence) doesn’t work out too well. 

There’s lots to love about these native Ashe juniper trees. This week, landscape designer and ecologist Elizabeth McGreevy champions their value to our holistic ecology.

Long prized for their resistance to rot, mountain cedars boosted economic value for fence posts, telephone poles, and homesteads.

Quote

Watch for her tell-all book in August 2019, Wanted! Mountain Cedar: Dead and Alive! 

Elizabeth-McGreevy-book-Wanted-Mountain-

 

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miguelito

miguelito 11266

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Well after a few days of 0 cedar counts, it was back up to 500 yesterday with this latest front.  But the people measuring it noted that the pollen was 'mature,' and suggested that this was basically the end of the run for cedar this year. 

So breath free and easy for a while until oak gets here.  Unless you're also sensitive to molds, which are high, and ash, mulberry, elm, etc.

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miguelito

miguelito 11266

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I'm calling it: cedar season is over.  This year was interesting in that we had the big assblast early, which made for a miserable Christmas week for me.  But then after that there was really just one peak, which wasn't so bad by comparison. 

Here's the handy color-coded chart:

2019-02-20-081524.jpg

 

 

 

But don't worry, Oak will be here soon.  Here is the last 3 years of data:

2019-02-20-081556.jpg

 

 

In the meantime, enjoy the ash, hackberry, molds, grasses (as people start to mow), and other assorted springtime allergens.

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austingirl

austingirl 2191

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On 1/23/2019 at 6:37 PM, atomheartbevo said:

Flipped on the TV just now, and this is coming on one of our PBS stations (Q station)

https://www.klru.org/episode/episode_91802?data={"nolaRoot":"CTXG"}

an episode of Central Texas Gardner with the description of: Discover why Ashe Junipers don’t deserve the bad rap 

http://www.centraltexasgardener.org/2019/01/artistic-sustainable-design-mountain-cedar-love/

 

Elizabeth McGreevy probably laughs when puppies die.

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miguelito

miguelito 11266

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OAK UPDATE

Oak has been a round for a while, but today is the first day that Oak is in the high category.  It's only at 540, which is considered high, but the last few years the peaks have been over 20,000.  So don't panic yet.  You might be feeling some itchy eyes, or scratchy throats, but it's going to get much, much worse.

Based on the chart above, it looks like we're trending similar to last year, with a peak after April 1.  Prepare your sinuses.

 

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Deej

Deej 76846

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7 minutes ago, Zepol87 said:

What are you taking? I have just been taking the CVS brand next to claritin but doesn't seem to be helping much

I take Claritin and Flonase every 12 hours. It just barely makes it bearable. 

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SurlyBDR

SurlyBDR 22808

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40 minutes ago, Zepol87 said:

What are you taking? I have just been taking the CVS brand next to claritin but doesn't seem to be helping much

Try Zyrtec or Xyzall, and Flonase too like Deej said. I have really bad seasonal allergies and Xyzall+Flonase on a dialy basis work fine on all of my symptoms except my eyes burning and itching. Naphcon A or Zaditor eye drops seem to provide some temporary relief, but not enough. 

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Chico_SA

Chico_SA 521

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54 minutes ago, CleverNickname said:

I find Zyrtec makes me a little bit sleepy - well, not actually sleepy like a full on benadryl nap, but oddly unproductive and listless at work. But allegra (fexofenadine) works on my better than claritin. I do mostly okay with Cedar, but Oak is hell. 

This Zyrtec issue just hit me last year. Used to be fine with it but now I feel a fog. 

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89735

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17 minutes ago, Deej said:

Seriously, I can feel it altering my brain chemistry. I will never take it again. 

Last month, there were a bunch of articles about a small number of people having a helluva time coming off of Zyrtec after months or years of years.  I usually use Zyrtec daily from November through February for cedar, and never have problems.  

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GotThatFire

GotThatFire 166

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 Born and raised in Austin. Had horrible allergies my whole life growing up. Used to get screamed at by my mom because I didn’t want to go and mow her dusty ass nightmare lawn which made me not even be able to breathe.  But there came a point when I stopped getting allergies and I have never had them since. *Knocks on wood 

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SimonBolivar

SimonBolivar 10958

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Not sure what's up with mine. My nose/eyes (a bit of post nasal, but whatever) are just fine but my skin is red as hell and I'm dizzy/tired even with 8 hrs of sleep. Dr says it's allergies, but it feels different than any allergy I've ever had. Dr kind of looked at me like I was crazy due to my numbers with my oxygen levels, BP, lungs, heart, pulse, and temperature all being perfect and no sneezing, coughing, or runny nose. 

 

Note: Had a major allergic reaction to some shellfish on April 20th and they had me on a high dose of prednisone (corticosteriod) for a week but I've been off of that for 3 weeks. I wonder if my system is all out of whack from that? I guess it could be all in my head after that and I'm just noticing everything a bit more now.

Edited by SimonBolivar
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Samson's Wig

Samson's Wig 3193

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Grass pollen has been extremely high lately.  Could be reacting to that.  I always enjoy the rolling clown show of cedar/juniper season, followed by oak season, followed by grass season all summer, and then just for that final extra kick in the nuts ragweed season in the fall through Nov.   A brief respite hits from Thanksgiving or so up until juniper kicks up around Christmas and then we're all back in the clown car for another trip around the sun. 

When is it allergy season in Central TX?  It's always fucking allergy season in Central TX.  Except for 2-3 weeks in December if we're lucky.

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miguelito

miguelito 11266

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Oak season is done, if you were wondering.  I was waiting to announce it, so as not to jinx anything.  This year's peak was later than previous years (but similar to 2018).  Here's the final color-coded chart for your files:

oak2019final.jpg

 

 

And the total count for the season (each day added up), was 211,980.

Compare that to:

170,880 in 2018

207,630 in 2017

197,610 in 2016.

 

Mold has been high lately, so that might be what is bothering people, along with grass, and a bunch of trees. 

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miguelito

miguelito 11266

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Mold has still been very high, but now there's also smoke in the air from "agricultural burning" in Mexico and Central America.  They burn the fields every year this time.  So your eyes and throat might be irritated by that. 

[no CR]How high is the wall gonna be?  High enough to keep out smoke that crosses the Gulf of Mexico?[/CR]

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South Austin

South Austin 52521

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Often mold can get to me, but I really don't like being on any mediation for a long period of time, even OTC allergy meds, so I've been off the Allegra/Flonase combo since the cedar/oak shitstorm of early 2019.  So far I'm not miserable, just hocking a few loogies in the morning. 

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