by Betty Carew

Created on: June 13, 2009   Last Updated: July 01, 2009

It is one of the most proactive steps you can take to protect yourself from allergies when getting a daily reading on pollen and mold counts. Pollen counts can change by location but by tuning into one of the services offered in your area you can easily find out how your day will be impacted by pollen and mold irritants. Anyone that suffers from severe allergies may already know how to find out the local pollen and mold counts in your area but for those that are just entering the world of allergies, may find it useful to know who to contact.

Understanding pollen and mold

To understand pollen and mold counts you have to understand pollen and mold and how it relates to your allergies. Pollen is tiny egged shaped cells that are found in flowering plants. When the wind blows these pollens take to the air in flight and spread far and wide on the air currents. Pollen comes from one of two sources which are trees in the spring, grass in the summer while molds can come from inside or outside. Molds can be found anytime of the year but is at its worse in hot humid weather. Molds can be found in dead leaves, soil, vegetation and rotting wood.

Understanding pollen and mold counts

A pollen count is a measurement of how much pollen is in the air. This translates into the concentration of pollen in the air at a certain time. This pollen is measured in grains of pollen per cubic meter over a twenty four hour period. A special sample device is used to collect the pollen and is usually placed on a roof top above ground level. Pollen spreads very easily so the sample that is taken in one area covers a large amount of the area surrounding it. Mold is measured like pollen to how many spores are in the air at the time the sample is taken.

Why pollen and mold counts are important

When you have allergies mold and pollen counts become very important. Avoiding the things that trigger your allergies is a must if you are a sufferer. It gives you information to decide if it's better to stay inside during the day when the counts are high to avoid an attack. These pollens can't be seen with the naked eye and this is the only way to know just how much is in the air. There are pollen and mold forecast which anyone with allergies can really benefit from. This is where weather stations forecast what the pollens and molds are going to be in the days ahead and gives you more time to plan your activities.

Where you can get accurate mold and pollen count information

There are quite a few

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