Pollen.com adds two new features to its site

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. Pollen.com, a division of Surveillance Data, Inc., on Monday announced the addition of two new features, Pollen History and Two-City Comparison, to its site for people who suffer from seasonal allergies.

Pollen.com has also added a shopping feature for those who wish to comparison-shop for allergy-relieving products.

Pollen History provides a 30-day allergy index history by zip code. The proprietary index assigns a weighted value to key factors such as the pollen count, weather and wind speed and direction. Visitors can use the chart to track whether allergy conditions are increasing or decreasing over time. In the near future, the site will introduce a 90-day look-back, which will be the most extensive pollen history available on the web.

The Two-City Comparison Chart allows Pollen.com visitors to compare the pollen intensity in their own area with that of another location for the next four days by plugging in the two zip codes. The chart that pops up displays bar graphs showing the pollen severity levels in the two locations for each day.

“When people with allergies travel on business, vacation or relocate, they want to know how the expected pollen levels in other areas compare with what they’re currently experiencing,” stated Glenn Connery, manager of the application development/web group for SDI. “Our Two-City Comparison helps people plan their medication use and their outdoor activities a little better. The comparison feature has also been used by parents whose children have allergies and are going away to college in a different city.”

Pollen.com will soon expand both Pollen History and Two-City Comparison to include breakdowns of specific pollen sources such as trees, plants and grasses.

And the new “Allergy Buyers Club” feature allows Pollen.com users to shop online for a wide range of allergy relief and healthy home products, including air purifiers, dehumidifiers, water filters, furnace filters, vacuum cleaners and hypoallergenic bedding.

“This is a user-driven service,” Connery said. “We’re fortunate to have such an interested and involved audience, and we try to respond to their suggestions by providing the features that they want. Their feedback really makes a difference in the usefulness of the site.”