New tool at Intermountain Riverton Hospital aims to tackle allergy season

With spring comes seasonal allergies, causing itchy eyes, runny noses, constant sneezing and the search for relief. Intermountain Riverton Hospital is stepping in with a fresh approach: the Burkard pollen and spore collector. 

The device sits on the hospital’s roof where it gathers mold scores and pollen counts. That information is then processed by looking under a microscope to observe and interpret which pollen count is high on any given day. The data will help patients and doctors work to improve the way allergies are triggered and treated. 

Dr. Scott Taylor, an allergist at the Intermountain Riverton Southridge Allergy Clinic (3723 W. 12600 South), said while the device isn’t new, it’s the first Burkard collector on the south side of Salt Lake County. 

“We got certified as a National Allergy Bureau investigation site, so it’s kind of exciting,” Taylor said. “The Burkard spore collector has been around since the 1950s but it’s improved over the years. It also helps people who have asthma, which can be triggered by pollen, as well.”

Once data is collected, patients can go online to see pollen counts and will have a better idea of how to create specific treatment plans with their allergists. Daily pollen counts are posted at Intermountainhealthcare.org/locations/southridge-clinic/allergy.

“Patients are noticing every year that they have similar symptoms around the same range of time,” Taylor said. “It’s important to meet with an allergist, to get good testing done and get treatment for their symptoms.”  

Taylor said there are about 20 top allergens in the Salt Lake Valley, depending on the time of the year. Tree pollens come out in the spring, grass pollens in the summer and ragweed in the fall. During the winter, allergies tend to come from being inside with pets. The Burkard, or the Big Green, as Taylor called it, is turned off during the colder months. 

South Jordan resident Julia Jones has worked with Taylor for the last decade, finding relief for her daughter who suffers from extreme allergy symptoms including the swelling of her ears and eye lining. Jones also developed allergies a few years ago and is careful to create a home environment that fosters clean air.

“It used to be we couldn’t use the swamp cooler in our house, just [air-conditioning] only, which is much more expensive and the windows were shut all the time. There were days when there was no going outside at all,” Jones said. “Now, as allergy shot patients, we can look on the website and see specifically what we’re reacting to on which days. So say I’m having a lot of symptoms, maybe it shows the ash tree is high. Then [the allergist] can take that information and increase the amount of ash in my serum that they’ll use for my allergy shots.”

Jones can also take the daily pollen count and adjust behaviors. For instance, if ragweed counts are high, she’ll wear eyeglasses instead of contacts because she knows her eyes will be itchy and watery all day. She can also take higher doses of antihistamines or talk to her doctor about treatments that bring long-lasting relief. 

“It’s not this major trial for most people, but it is annoying. It’s irritating to have these symptoms and when you see the blossoms on the trees, you know symptoms are coming,” she said. “It’s a blessing to have tools like this device that we can check online and that we have immunotherapy to help us improve our symptoms, if not help them disappear altogether.”