Seasonal allergies come to us all

These days, many Americans suffer from antihistamine haze. I managed to sound a version of This allergy season is the worstI can’t help but agree. In New York, where I live, the tiny chartreuse flowers on maple trees and the caterpillar-like catkins of birch and oak are pollen bombs that seem to be exploding more vigorously than usual. Mascara is streaming from my lashes in pollen-induced tears as I write this. appealed to the means.

Every spring, I complain of allergies, but it seems that the symptoms are really getting worse. Blame it on climate change: As plants produce more pollen for longer periods of time, Kenneth Mendes, CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, says allergy seasons are ‘longer and more intense’. The problem isn’t just that warmer temperatures lengthen the growing season.carbon dioxide itself Promotes pollen production. Compared to 30 years ago, pollen season in North America now starts about 20 days earlier, lasts about 8 days longer, and contains 21% more pollen, according to a study published in the journal. PNAS.

But it’s not just long-time allergy sufferers like me who suffer. All of this pollen seems to be causing seasonal allergies in people who have it. never had them beforeAllergies have skyrocketed in recent years. In 2018, 7.7% of US adults I experienced “hay fever,” another name for seasonal allergies. By 2021, that proportion will be about quarterTemperatures will rise even higher in the next few years, releasing more pollen into the air and potentially causing even more people to develop allergies.

The development of seasonal allergies depends largely on two factors: genetics and the environment. Some people are naturally predisposed to allergies, and climate change hasn’t changed that, Kathleen May, president of the American Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, told me. . The relationship between temperature, carbon dioxide levels, and pollen (a fine yellow dust that some plants give off for reproduction) is very well established.Decades ago, scientists discovered that plants prosper In warm greenhouses with high carbon dioxide concentrations, for some species, produce more pollen than otherwise theyThis is now happening on a continental scale.

Allergies occur when a person’s immune system falsely flags harmless particles as dangerous and begins to produce allergy-fighting antibodies known as IgE immunoglobulins in preparation for the next encounter. When IgE antibodies detect enough of the allergen, they launch an explosive attack on the unlucky intruder, releasing chemicals that cause itching, sneezing, congestion, and other typical symptoms of an allergic reaction.

Complicating matters is the fact that not everyone who develops these antibodies and is “sensitized” to an allergen experiences symptoms every time pollen flies through their noses. teeth notorious complexityWith seasonal allergies, “it takes a certain amount of time or exposure for the sensitization to cause symptoms,” May said. means that some people have allergies. They just haven’t been exposed to enough pollen to experience symptoms yet. According to Mendez, the body responds by “recognizing that there is too much.”

Climate change, by pumping pollen-filled air over an extended period of time, makes it more likely that people, seasoned patients and novices alike, will reach that threshold. Some of the people who don’t have symptoms will now start to develop symptoms,” May said, and “certainly those who already have it will get worse.” Part can end up with seasonal symptoms for the rest of their lives, thanks to a phenomenon calledpriming effectThat means even a little bit of pollen in the air can eventually cause nasal confusion. is unlikely, but the reason is not yet clear.

Overall, though, it’s safe to assume that the more pollen there is, the more likely anyone is to experience symptoms. It is not clear to what extent, according to one studyadults in American counties where spring begins significantly earlier than historical averages are 14% more likely to develop seasonal allergies than adults in counties where the onset of spring falls within the normal range. modeling studies It suggests that as early as 2041, the number of people sensitized to common pungent ragweed will more than double from 33 million to 77 million because of climate change. Worsening allergies are a global concern, but the changes are not uniform geographically. In the US, these changes are now happening faster in Texas and the Midwest. PNAS study. The lead author of the study, William Anderegg, a professor of biology at the University of Utah, said he didn’t know why. Plants growing there can be particularly sensitive to warmth. These species may eventually spread as warmer temperatures give them the opportunity to migrate to new environments.

We are not ready to fully understand the impact of climate change on allergies. all year roundas it’s already taking place in warmer parts of the country, Anderegg noted. Seven degree warm than neighboring rural areas. Worsening pollen counts are also social factors such as low use of over-the-counter allergy medicines and low numbers of allergists in the southern and eastern United States, which are among the nation’s most populated areas for allergy sufferers. It has become one of the hardest places to live.To Recent reports From the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

But even if pollen fills the air, there are many things patients can do to ease their symptoms. Learning and taking a regimen can maximize the benefits of anti-allergy medications. Before Symptoms begin.Advocacy for more advanced pollen monitoring – national numbers often still done manually— in the long run, it helps to provide more timely forecasts. Still, we can’t get around the fact that allergies are just another inconvenience that climate change is bringing to our lives.

Even if the United States and other countries are making tangible progress to cut carbon emissions, the level of warming already built in means pollen will continue to be an even bigger nuisance, It can snowball in some cases. Seasonal allergies can trigger asthma and lead to hospitalization. more vulnerable to some viruses, include coronavirus“There’s also this huge set of social implications that we tend not to think about.” decline in labor productivity and poor student performance at schoolsaid Anderegg. Allergies are clearly far from the most devastating impact of climate change, but this pollen season hell is a reminder that even the smallest climate impacts can be more than a nuisance. .