Describe the issue ( Exposure to pollen and asthma risk) and expand on how expos

Question

Describe the issue ( Exposure to pollen and asthma risk) and expand on how exposure and human health may be modified for the given topic in relation to climate change. This may be in terms of both severity, frequency and geography. Additionally, you should indicate if you think that there are Environmental Justice (EJ) issues associated with the health aspect, and expand on the nature of this concern. This could include location, built environment and lack of empowerment of affected groups. Finally indicate what may be useful to remediate the selected problem

Explanation / Answer

Pollen is the mass of tiny grains produced by a plant for the purpose of fertilisation. Some brightly coloured flowering plants such as wattles have a small amount of relatively heavy, sticky pollen that is spread by birds or insects. Other plants such as weeds, grasses and various trees have smoother, lighter pollen and lots of it. These plants use the wind to spread their pollen, and it is this type of pollen that is a problem for many people with asthma

Pollen is a common trigger of asthma and produces its effect by means of an allergy. Pollen is thus known as an ‘allergen’, which is an essentially harmless substance that sparks off an abnormal (‘allergic’) reaction in susceptible people. In the case of asthma, the lungs are affected, bringing on the typical asthma symptoms of wheeze, cough, chest tightness and difficulty in breathing.

Your allergy to pollen can mean you may also get the symptoms of hay fever (seasonal allergic rhinitis) — watery and itchy eyes, sneezing, runny or blocked nose, and itchy ears, mouth and throat — which may also benefit from treatment

Pollen causes more of an impact in Australia during spring and early summer than at other times of the year. However, in the warm northern regions of Australia, grass pollens can cause problems all year round for people with asthma.

The pollen season occurs when plants and trees have flowers. Some plants will shed large amounts of pollen in the early spring, for example, introduced, European street trees such as the London plane; others will shed throughout spring and summer, for example, grasses such as ryegrass and the weed Paterson’s curse; while others can be a problem for most of the year, for example, she-oaks (native pine trees) and the weed plantain.

In the warmer months, most television weather forecasts include a pollen count for the day that is based on the average number of pollen grains measured per cubic metre of air. Pollen count may be described as low, medium, high or extreme

Simultaneous exposure to allergens (such as pollens) and air pollution (such as from diesel exhaust or ozone) may increase the risk for people with asthma and allergies. Pollen allergen may interact with the exhaust particles from diesel engines to create particles that are more easily breathed into the lungs so high levels of pollen in the air, as occur in the spring and summer, rain, and high levels of exhaust fumes can mean a high-risk day for people who have pollen-induced asthma.

If your asthma seems to be triggered by pollen, you can try the following measures to reduce your pollen exposure

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