UW Hospital launches allergy alert Web site

They live in the air we breathe, you can’t see them or smell them, and for people with allergies they can be public enemy number one. These microscopic airborne particles, called pollens, can appear without warning, making life miserable for allergy sufferers caught unprepared. That was until now.

Related site: Allergy alert Web page

UW Hospital and Clinics has launched a new Web page designed to inform people of the presence of specific pollens in the air, their severity, and how badly they may effect people allergic to those pollens.

“This allergy alert Web page is a way for people with allergies to prepare themselves for what they may have to deal with that day,” said Michael Esterl of the Medical School’s Allergy and Asthma Research Center. “If they log on to our Web page and see the prevalence of a pollen they are allergic to, it may be an indicator for them to take necessary precautions.”

Initially, the pollen data will be collected three times a week by specially trained pollen counters at UW Hospital, and then increasing to every weekday beginning August 1st. The pollen count web page, managed by the University of Wisconsin Medical School’s Allergy and Asthma Research Center, will eventually include a vast array of educational information for people with allergies.

“We think the Web is an excellent way to get this information out to the public,” said Esterl. “Soon, the site will also include an allergy alert email system, educational information on different pollens and allergy, and information on how people can get involved in allergy and asthma research.”

The Web page can be accessed at http://www.uwhospital.org/pollen.

Those interested in learning about allergy or asthma studies may call the UW’s Allergy and Asthma Research Center at 608-263-6049.