Red Tide?

[NotDeadYet]

I've been to Calif when there was red tide. It seems to be a different species of algae that grows in the cold Pacific, because it never bothered my respiratory system. This Gulf stuff on the other hand is bad that way. I do think what is bothering people here lately is all the pine pollen; I have not noticed any red tide. Late summer, especially October, is when I've seen it get bad here. Never seen it here this time of the year.

 

[Beach Runner]

2/8 update from redtide@MyFWC.com :


NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Water samples collected this week and late last week from Choctawhatchee Bay (Okaloosa and Walton counties) contained no Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism; however residual brevetoxin is currently affecting some shellfish harvesting areas. Check with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture for the most up-to-date information regarding shellfish area closures. Additional samples collected offshore of Citrus and Hernando counties contained no K. brevis.

The FWRI Red Tide Status Line is now available to callers to hear a recording detailing red tide conditions throughout the state. FWRI updates the recording each Friday by 5 p.m. after sampling efforts for the week have been completed and analyzed. Red Tide Status Line: (866) 300-9399 (toll-free inside Florida only); (727) 552-2448 (outside Florida).
Visit Florida Red Tide Current Status and select the statewide summary or a region of interest for more information and sampling details.

 

[Jdarg]

Pine pollen is starting to get thick now, but our allergist swears people are not affected by it. Apparently, it is so heavy that it doesn't hang in the air, which is why you see it on cars and in water,etc. It is too heavy to hang in the air so you don't breathe it in.

 

[mikecat adjuster]

Yes, it may or may not have had anything to do with red tide. I have seen the pollen (pine) all over everything and I have been in the state forest constantly, hiking the trails quite often. My brother is a doctor and prescibed some antibiotics after my sinuses became infected. I feel much better now. I hope I am out of the woods

 

[NotDeadYet]

but our allergist swears people are not affected by it.

Right........:roll:

 

[GoodWitch58]

our allergist swears people are not affected by it.
you might want to find another doc.....

 

[GoodWitch58]

our allergist swears people are not affected by it.


you might want to find another doc.....

 

[Jdarg]

our allergist swears people are not affected by it.


you might want to find another doc.....

Part of what she says makes sense- it is the lighter pollens in the air that you can't see that are the triggers. Apparently, most people are not truly allergic to pine pollen. The particles are large and heavy, and they don't hang in the air because of this- they just land on everything and make a mess.

I had asked specifically about the pine pollen when we moved here because it is so visible, and both kids are on allergy meds. Both tested negative for pine pollen.

 

[NotDeadYet]

I just can't seem to leave this one alone. I think because it seems to be a typical example of the complete loss of common sense in favor of definitions that appear to clarify but don't.
I am guessing that what your allergist means is that pine pollen doesn't usually cause the defined "allergic" reaction, that being an overreaction of the immune system. That would be why your kids would test negative, their immune systems are ignoring the pine pollen.
But it seems to me it is just plain old common sense that while all that "heavy" pollen is drifting downwards, some of it is going to be breathed in and end up in the respiratory system. The body is going to clear it out one way or another - if the immune system ignores it, that does not mean it isn't going to stimulate dripping, snorting and coughing as the respiratory system clears it out, same as would happen if it was dust or smoke that you were not "allergic" to, but that your lungs still didn't want in there mucking things up.
Your allergist can't see the forest for the tree pollen, imho.