First the good news. Allergy suffers who mistakenly blame their problems on wind direction will soon have a more accurate way of pinpointing the real reasons behind their runny noses, itchy eyes, and general misery, while those who confuse colds with allergies will have their situation clarified.

The bad news? Bermuda probably has one of the worst concentrations of allergy sufferers in the world, which is why consultant ear, nose and throat allergist Dr. Jonathan Murray is taking steps to provide information which he hopes will educate and benefit all of its residents.

Soon to be installed on the roof of his Point Finger Road, Paget surgery is an air sampler -- a small gadget with sticky rods and a tiny, motor-driven propeller, which will take air samples intermittently over a 24-hour period and collect pollen, grains and mould spores on the rods.

The rods will then be removed for microscopic study by Mrs. Jutta Harvey, nurse manager of allergy and asthma care at Dr. Murray's surgery. Based on her findings, data on pollen, grains and mould spores will be recorded and a count for the week arrived at and published.

"The idea is that changes tend to be in overall trends rather than changing abruptly, hence our plan to do a weekly sample,'' Dr. Murray said. "That doesn't take into account the times when rain may suddenly clear the air, so we are getting a more accurate overall picture.'' The air sampler will not, however, be used to record pollution.

"The goal is to help identify a high pollen count and assist allergy sufferers,'' the doctor explained.

"The information we gather will help us in our diagnoses and treatment, and also assist people with allergies to avoid exposure if they are aware there is a high pollen/spore count.'' According to Dr. Murray, people often fail to distinguish between a cold and an allergy, since both involve similar symptoms. If allergy sufferers who are affected by pollen, grass and mould spores are able to read an official count in the newspaper they are better able to diagnose their problem and take the appropriate precautions, such as wearing a mask when gardening.

Armed with the same information, cold sufferers will be able to either consult their own physician for treatment, or purchase over-the-counter remedies, knowing that they do not have an allergy and therefore do not need to consult an allergist.

Finally, Dr. Murray says the forthcoming air sample information will assist him in his work.

"What Mrs. Harvey does is allergy testing. Air samples will give her information on what is in the air, and I can correlate that with the results of the allergy testing. By tying the two together, I will have more meaningful information.'' It is the consultant ENT allergist's aim to have pollen and spore count information incorporated into The Royal Gazette 's daily weather page, as is done elsewhere.

"We want to bring Bermuda into line with other cities in the western world who give out pollen/spore counts,'' he said.

"We hope to tie in with the gateway cities in terms of public information on the weather page.'' Dr. Murray anticipates that when this information is printed, it will be in a form which is easily understood.

"It will tell you which days are good and which are not,'' he says. "We will try to have a number, so we will probably do it on a gradation scale, which will allow it to be interpreted as high, medium or low.

"The point is to link the allergy reading with the person's own symptoms, which will help patients pinpoint whether or not they are suffering from an allergy. A lot of what we are talking about is avoidance measures.'' As beautiful as the Island is, Dr. Murray says that in terms of asthma and allergies it is far from a paradise.

"Bermuda must have one of the worst concentrations of allergy sufferers in the world because it is at exactly the correct latitude for moulds specifically to grow, and also the house dust mite. There are no mountains over 3000 feet, which means the whole island is involved.

"Because it is an island, the humidity is high. We also live on top of water tanks, and Bermuda stone is very porous, so we can't really get away from the humidity, either indoors or out.

"In addition, we have very lush vegetation, which means lots of pollen. Showy flowers have heavier pollen and bigger pollen grains, but they are not inhaled as easily. It is more often the weeds, trees and grasses that are the problem because their pollen is very small and lightweight, and flies around in the air, getting in people's noses and being inhaled.

"The only mitigating factor is that Bermuda doesn't have ragweed, which is a very important allergen in the United States.''