I'm deviating from the usual dog discussions today. As I sit here sniffing and coughing despite my Allegra D (the D is very important, trust me) I thought some of you might find this interesting. As most of you know I coordinate pharmaceutical research trials for the doctor I work for. Some of those trials are for allergies. That means we need to know what's floating around in the air day-to-day. Well here you go folks...
The photos are a little grainy as I took them with my cell phone through the eye of the microscope but under 40x magnification this is what is making us all sneeze. These were actually taken some weeks ago, there's far more grass out there now. The "Mickey Mouse" looking fellows are tree pollen, conifers mostly, while the oval ones are grasses. The speckledy bits are dust, mold, and other things I don't count because in the Rogue Valley they are constantly present in allergenic levels. I do find some fun things from time to time, bits of wing or a leg slapped off a passing insect like this little guy...remember this is under 40x magnification, that is more pollen beside him, so he got their by floating...
Just thought you might all like to know what you're really breathing out there.
Have a great day and don't forget to change your furnace filters!
