Allergies

Allergies are caused by the body's overzealous reaction to normally harmless substances. Allergies can be triggered by pollen, animal dander, mold, dust, and insect droppings, or by certain foods or insect stings. Upper respiratory allergy symptoms include runny nose, itchy eyes, coughing, wheezing, and sneezing. Up to 50 million people in the U.S. have allergies.

Your New Allergy Survival Guide

 

It's getting worse

by Aviva Patz
From Health magazine
Every year, sneeze sufferers swear: "This is the worst allergy season ever." And they’re right. "Pollen levels are increasing, pollen seasons are getting longer, and more people are developing allergies," says Estelle Levetin, PhD, chairwoman of the aerobiology committee for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

In fact, this year’s fall allergies (affecting at least 12 million Americans) will likely last up to 27 days longer than average in the northernmost parts of North America, going even into November in some spots, a new study suggests.

Sneezes from the seasons

While spring and fall allergies cause the same symptoms (sneezing, itchy eyes, and runny nose), their triggers are different.

Spring allergies, which run from February to late July, are brought on by pollen from trees, grasses, and weeds. Fall allergies go from mid-August through the first autumn frost, and are chiefly set off by pollen from the ragweed plant, mold, and dust mites.

Read on to learn what’s making both seasons so unbearable—and the best ways to survive them.

Pollution doesn't help

Spring allergies now start sooner and fall allergies end later, thanks to global warming, says Jeffrey G. Demain, MD, director of the Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Center of Alaska.

We’re using more carbon-based fuels, generating greenhouse gases that trap heat from the sun in our atmosphere. This makes temperatures rise, prompting plants and trees to flower—and release pollen—earlier each spring; in the fall, they delay the death of ragweed plants from frost, extending the pollen season, explains Levetin.

End result: "Fall" allergies may go practically into winter.

There’s more pollen than ever

Higher amounts of carbon dioxide not only kick-start pollen production, they also boost the amount of pollen each plant generates, too—especially in urban areas, where the gas is more plentiful. To add insult to injury, CO2 is making pollen more potent, too.

More people are developing allergies

The number of Americans with allergies is two to five times higher now than it was about 30 years ago, according to surveys from the National Institutes of Health.

Genes play a role in your susceptibility, but the blooming allergy boom is most likely due to the longer, more intense pollen seasons.

There are other expert-supported theories as well.

"There’s more allergen now in each grain than there used to be," Dr. Demain says. And pollen isn’t the only allergen on the rise. Increasingly balmy temperatures mean more moisture in the air, which creates mold.

"The higher temperatures and gas may increase not just the growth of mold but also its spore production—which is how it distributes allergens—both indoors and out," Dr. Demain says

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