Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Outdoor Allergens, H A. Burge, Christine A. Rogers

Christine A. Rogers

Outdoor allergens are an important part of the exposures that lead to allergic disease. Understanding the role of outdoor allergens requires a knowledge of the nature of outdoor allergen-bearing particles, the distributions of their source, and the nature of the aerosols (particle types, sizes, dynamics of concentrations). Primary sources for outdoor allergens include vascular plants (pollen, fern spores, soy dust), and fungi (spores, hyphae). Nonvascular plants, algae, and arthropods contribute small numbers of allergen-bearing particles. Particles are released from sources into the air by wind, rain, mechanical disturbance, or active discharge mechanisms. Once airborne, they follow the physical laws that …