Home > Clinics and Services > Clinics and Departments > Allergy Asthma and Immunology

Pollen Count

Laser particle counts are the number of particles per cubic foot divided into 6 different size ranges. A laser beam literally counts the number of such particles as they are sucked past a detector. There is evidence that increased numbers of particles, particularly in the smaller ranges, are associated with heart diseases. That is why we measure it.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Contact Us

Phone: (816) 960-8885
Fax: (816) 960-8888

Wednesday's Comments

The recent rain has cleaned some allergy grains and particles from the air. The counts of both the pollen and mold spore are in moderate range today. We continued to have a few ragweed pollen grains in the collection. Our ragweed season usually lasts two months from mid-August to mid-October. Early onset of freezing weather or heavy rainfall can shorten our ragweed season. All of the ascospores that had been saving themselves for wet weather came bursting out this morning but dry weather brings more Cladosporium spores that grew abundantly during the wet period in the air. The SkyCast for today is still Green (Good).

Summary

Location	Pollen (m3)	Mold (m3)
Downtown	21 (Moderate)	11440 (Moderate)

Laser Particle Counts

Size	Count (ft3)
0.3-0.5uM	2062062
0.5-1.0uM	244513
1 - 5uM	37187
5-10uM	571
10-25uM	0
>25uM	0

Top 5 Pollens

Pollen	Count	Percent
Ragweed	12	60%
Chenopod	4	20%
Other Weed Pollen	3	15%
Pollen, Other	1	5%

Top 5 Molds

Mold	Count	Percent
Cladosporium	6153	53.78%
Ascospores	4333	37.88%
Basiduiospores	347	3.03%
Smuts	260	2.27%
Cercospora, Alternaria, and other mold	347	3.03%

Disclosure

Pollen and mold counts are collected at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics Hospital Hill location using a Hirst spore trap manufactured by Burkard Limited. Results are expressed as the mean value of the particles per cubic meter and represent an integrated 24 hour collection. These results may be published for media purposes provided the Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics logo is used to acknowledge the source. Written authorization must be provided for commercial use of the results. For a recorded count, call (816) 346-1331.