Sneezing, coughing, congestion, hay fever and itchy, watery eyes — these are the most common symptoms of pollen allergies, and while new residents to the Las Vegas area may think they’ll be free of their Zyrtec and nasal sprays in such a hot, dry climate: Think again!

Southern Nevada’s dry climate can actually make allergies worse since it interferes with our body’s natural defenses to allergens. The lack of humidity tends to dry up the secretions in our noses, making it easier for pollen to enter the lungs. 

In the spring and early summer, the biggest offenders tend to be ash, mulberry, olive, pine, and sycamore trees. There may be a slight summer reprieve as we blaze into triple-digit temperatures, but come fall, ragweed and sagebrush make their appearance. 

These cycles can be tough to keep track of, but tucked away in UNLV’s Harry Reid Center is the person most likely to help you understand what’s tickling your nose today — Asma Tahir.

Tahir (’11 BA Psychology and ’14 MPH Healthcare Administration) is an instructor in UNLV’s School of Public Health and supervisor of the CCSD/UNLV Pollen Monitoring Program.

The program was launched in 2013 as a partnership between UNLV, Clark County School District (CCSD), and the county Department of Air Quality. It carries the important task of providing local pollen and mold spore counts in Las Vegas. 

Those careful counts begin with collecting samples at stations on the UNLV campus and at four CCSD schools — Jerome D. Mack Middle School, Sunrise Acres Elementary School, Joseph M. Neal Elementary School, Palo Verde High School — as well as a control station located in Jean, Nevada.

The county-wide distribution of the sites is a unique feature of the program and makes it possible to monitor important data for the west, northwest, southeast, and UNLV ZIP codes.

When “Down for the Count” is a Good Thing

Tahir began working at the pollen lab in 2016. The program also employs two part-time student workers. “One is a grad student and the other is an undergrad,” explains Tahir, whose office walls are plastered with informational graphics about pollens and plants. “The undergraduate student collects the samples from different stations using the trucks that we have. They stain the collected slides, we count, and then we enter the results in Excel spreadsheets.”

At the UNLV station, samples are collected daily. Samples from the other sites are collected weekly. Pollen, though heavily influenced by the previous year’s rainfall, remains a rather unpredictable phenomenon. On one day, a microscopic slide can be completely clear of pollen, but on another it may be coated with thousands of minute pollen grains.

The count from the UNLV station —  the only site of the six certified by the National Allergy Bureau (NAB) — is shared daily with local meteorologists and listed on the NAB and Weather Channel websites. 

Besides helping to keep tabs on pollen counts, the program also provides educational programming for CCSD students. Tahir visits classes and shares information related to allergies, pollen, and how it’s collected.

So, why and how does one become a certified NAB pollen and mold counter?

“They cannot count the UNLV collections if they aren’t certified,” says Tahir, referring to the students who've rotated in and out of the program over the years. Luckily, the graduate student who works with Tahir is certified.

Certification requires multiple steps including a trip to a conference in New Orleans, a special course, an exam, and being sent slides filled with pollen and mold spores that an applicant must identify.

Therefore, the bulk of the counting — again, which can be thousands per slide —  rests on the shoulders of Tahir and one grad student.

Staffing limitations aren’t the only challenges the lab faces. The program isn’t guaranteed funding. The grant the program receives is renewed yearly and supported through the collection of fees from air quality violations.

“It’s a lot of work, and I hope that someone sees it’s essential for public health.”

Long-term, the work is essential as environmental studiescontinue to tie climate change to the lengthening of allergy seasons across the U.S. 

But, maybe Tahir can breathe a little easier knowing she is making a difference in the lives of county residents. Especially as she fondly recounts the times concerned citizens have phoned in to ask about pollen counts after being able to sense a particular allergen in the air. 

Curbing Pollen Through Thoughtful Landscaping

Meanwhile, residents can always consider short-term solutions like being more mindful of what they plant in their yards. Fruitless mulberry trees, for example, were originally brought to the area to create more shade but banned by Clark County in 1991 due to the amount of pollen they shed. In the same year, the county also banned European olive trees.

James Kearney, grounds superintendent for UNLV’s facilities management department, keeps things like that in mind as he tends to campus. UNLV is recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus USA, but its large concentration of trees and plants can definitely have an impact on allergies for those on campus.

“Desert plants like cactus and succulents tend to have lower levels of pollen. Grasses are pollinated by wind whereas desert plants rely on moths, bees, and bats,” explains Kearney, who also manages the UNLV Grounds Instagram account, which regularly posts informative (and often humorous) commentary about the trees and plants found on campus. “We are planting more of these types of plants for the purposes of water conservation anyway, so it’s a win/win.”

Kearney offers his own practical advice for those working out in the yard or just trying to avoid the worst of Nevada’s most offensive pollen offenders. “I wear a N95 mask at times. I feel it helps reduce the amount of pollen I breathe in, especially when using a blower or equipment that will stir it up,” says Kearney.

And he’s mindful of not bringing his work home with him. “I have been told that cotton is a better material to wear because many synthetic materials have a static charge that can attract pollen like a magnet. I also shower immediately when I get home to get it out of my hair and clothes. Sitting on the couch could leave pollen there to be breathed in later.”