Measuring airborne allergen levels to improve allergic respiratory health

New research shows for the first time that measuring airborne allergen levels could help people with hay fever to better control their symptoms.

Researchers from Imperial and King's College London collected daily symptom and medication scores from adult participants and daily counts of asthma hospital admissions in London. They measured grass pollen counts, as well as the amount of a grass allergen protein called Phl p 5 in the air.

The research is published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

They found that measuring levels of airborne allergen was more accurate than measuring pollen counts, as each pollen grain can release a different amount of allergen protein each day. There is currently no regular monitoring of allergen levels in the UK or elsewhere.

First author Dr. Elaine Fuertes, from Imperial's National Heart and Lung Institute, said the study found that grass allergen (Phl p 5) levels were "more consistently associated with allergic respiratory symptoms than grass pollen counts."