Clouds of pollen seen down the east coast of the North Island, Manawatu, Whanganui and around the Nelson/Tasman area have led to comments on social media that more farmland being blanket-planted in trees will lead to increasing health problems.
But Dixon says because of its size, pine pollen is less likely to be the cause of allergies.
“It’s easy to see but it’s too big to be absorbed into soft tissue around the eyes, nose and mouth,” he said.
“(Pollen) needs to be very small for that to happen, so it’s more likely to be grass pollen (causing any current allergic reactions).”
Dixon says one of the drawbacks of NZ’s pastoral economy is that there is a lot more grassland than there was before the land was cleared, which means as spring approaches increasing winds will spread grass pollens.
The grasses most commonly involved in causing allergies in NZ are rye, browntop and cocksfoot, while plantain and dock, common weeds on NZ farms, are also listed as common causes of allergies.
Dixon says pine is known to be one of the first plant species to flower so can be viewed as a sign of what’s just around the corner.
“It’s pollen burst is quite dramatic but it’s a signal that every other type of flowering plant will be starting to do the same. It’s just that we can’t see it,” he said.
He recommends that three weeks prior to pollen burst people who suffer from hay fever visit their GP and get medication to set up their resistance to the symptoms that will invariably follow.
About 1.5 million people in NZ suffer from some form of allergy, and for 30% of those people it’s hay fever.
View the annual pollen calendar on the Allergy NZ website here.
