What is pollen allergy?

Pollen is the fine powder trees, grasses and weeds release to reproduce. In a person with an allergic tendency, the immune system mistakes harmless pollen for a threat and releases histamine and other chemicals. The result is allergic rhinitis (hay fever): sneezing, runny or blocked nose, itchy eyes, itchy throat and post-nasal drip. In many patients the same allergy reaches the lungs and triggers cough, wheeze and bronchial asthma.

Why is it so severe in Islamabad?

Islamabad is a planned city with wide green belts, hills and a large number of trees. That sounds healthy, and it is, except for one problem: several of the most common trees planted here are heavy pollen producers.

1. The paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera)

This is the best-known culprit. The tree spread widely across Islamabad and Rawalpindi from the 1960s onward and now grows along roads, in parks and on the Margalla foothills. Each spring the male trees release enormous clouds of pollen over a few weeks. Local doctors and researchers have repeatedly linked it to the March–April surge in allergy and asthma visits.

2. A long, layered pollen calendar

Islamabad does not have a single short pollen season. Trees peak in late winter and spring, grasses follow, and weeds such as parthenium and cannabis-type weeds add to the load later in the year. Many patients therefore have symptoms for months, not days.

3. Dry, windy weather

Pollen travels furthest on dry, breezy days. Dry spring spells with gusty winds carry pollen across the whole city, and pollen counts fall only after rain washes the air.

4. Pollution makes pollen worse

Vehicle smoke, construction dust and smog irritate the airway lining and make it easier for allergens to trigger a reaction. Pollution can also increase how allergenic pollen is. Together they turn a mild allergy into a severe one.

5. Untreated allergy and self-medication

Many people treat their symptoms for years with over-the-counter tablets, drops or repeated oral steroids from a pharmacy, without ever being tested. Poorly controlled allergic rhinitis is one of the main reasons asthma develops or worsens.

Symptoms to watch for

• Repeated sneezing, especially in the morning or after going outdoors
• Runny or blocked nose, post-nasal drip and reduced sense of smell
• Red, itchy, watery eyes and itchy throat or ears
• Dry cough, wheeze, chest tightness or breathlessness, which suggest the lungs are involved
• Poor sleep, tiredness and difficulty concentrating in the season

Seek prompt care if you have wheezing, night-time cough, or breathlessness that limits daily activity. These are signs of asthma, not just hay fever.

Who is at higher risk?

• People with a family history of allergy, eczema or asthma
• Children and young adults, though onset can happen at any age
• Existing asthma patients, whose control often slips in spring
• Those living or working near heavily wooded roads and parks, or in dusty construction zones
• Smokers and people exposed to smoke or vehicle exhaust

How to prevent and reduce pollen allergy

Reduce your exposure

• Check the season. Stay indoors as much as possible on dry, windy mornings and afternoons in March and April. Pollen levels are generally highest early in the day.
• Keep windows closed at home and in the car during peak weeks. Use air conditioning on recirculate instead.
• Wear a well-fitting mask (N95/KN95 type) and wrap-around sunglasses outdoors.
• Shower and change clothes when you get home. Wash your hair at night so pollen stays off your pillow.
• Dry laundry indoors during the season, since damp washing collects pollen.
• Wash your face and rinse your nose with sterile or boiled-and-cooled saline to clear pollen from the lining.
• Avoid smoke and dust, and do not sit near burning waste or construction sites.
• Consider a HEPA filter in the bedroom if you can.

Start treatment early

• Begin your prescribed nasal steroid spray or antihistamine 1–2 weeks before your usual season. Preventive use works much better than treating a full-blown attack.
• Do not rely on repeated steroid injections or tablets for allergy. They can give quick relief, but the side effects add up over time.
• Asthma patients should not stop their inhaler in spring. Inhaled therapy is the cornerstone of asthma control, and a pollen surge is exactly when you need it.

Find out what you are allergic to

Allergy testing (skin prick or blood tests) shows which pollens, dust mites or moulds are responsible. Testing lets your doctor tailor the plan, and where suitable, discuss allergen immunotherapy, a long-term treatment that can reduce sensitivity to specific allergens. Spirometry and FeNO testing check whether the allergy has begun to affect your lungs.

What communities and authorities can do

Prevention also works at city level: replacing high-pollen trees with low-allergen species in new plantations, cutting weeds before they flower, and better public pollen alerts. As residents, we can push for informed planting and avoid planting more male paper mulberry trees.

When to see a pulmonologist

• Symptoms last more than two weeks or return every year
• Over-the-counter medicines no longer work
• You wheeze, cough at night or feel breathless
• You have needed emergency treatment or oral steroids in the season