Seasonal allergies: You're not alone.Here's why hay fever is worse than ever this spring

For about one in four American adults, spring flowers signal the beginning of an itchy, tearful, engorged throes.

And no matter how many ways you try, the situation only gets worse. Experts agree that more people are becoming allergic to airborne irritants like pollen and mold, that allergy symptoms are more severe and that allergy season is lasting longer than ever. Masu.

Research has also shown that pollen can disrupt the immune system without inflaming the airways, so you may notice an increase in pollen even if you don't have hay fever.

If you already feel this way, you're not alone.

blame climate change

Scientists say the intensification of seasonal allergies, along with increased exposure to infectious diseases, is one of the first waves of health impacts predicted by the global warning.

A recent study found that growing climates in the United States are changing as the climate warms, expanding the ranges of plants and trees. Rising temperatures cause plants to bloom earlier, lengthen the flowering season, and lengthen the pollen season. Increased rainfall means plants release more pollen when they bloom, and more thunderstorms mean the pollen grains burst, increasing pollen irritation and worsening symptoms.

Wind patterns are changing in some parts of the world, allowing pollen to be carried over long distances.

“Pollen is being dispersed more widely, at least in some parts of the world, and people may be exposed to different types of pollen,” said lead researcher Mary Margaret of Harvard University. Dr. Johnson said. TH Chan School of Public Health, which studies the health effects of climate change.

There is also some evidence that the impact of pollen is becoming stronger due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Researchers in South Korea grew oak trees in special rooms that allowed them to control the amount of carbon dioxide in the air around the plants, adjusting carbon dioxide levels to match predicted concentrations for 2050. The tree was planted in September 2009. Eight years later, the flowers bloomed, and researchers collected and studied the pollen they produced.

“And what they discovered was that there were literally billions more pollen being produced,” said Louis Ziska, associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The pollen also appears to be highly allergenic.

“There is an increase in proteins in the tegument, or outer shell of pollen, that trigger an immune system response,” he said, noting that his research group observed the same phenomenon in ragweed plants.

Besides the more potent pollen, its sheer volume can also be causing problems. Experts believe that increased exposure to pollen increases the chance of sensitization and increases allergies.

Global sales of antihistamines, drugs that relieve allergy symptoms, will rise in the next 10 years as more people hit pharmacy shelves to relieve symptoms, according to market research website market.us. It is expected to more than double in a year.

Allergists are busy

Over the past 30 years, Dr. Joseph Inglefield III says he's seen spring allergies onset earlier and earlier each year.

“It's at least a month earlier than it used to be,” said Inglefield, an allergist who owns Hickory Allergy and Asthma in Hickory, North Carolina.

Inglefield said this is the second year in a row that the region has had lots of rain but no snow, and this weather pattern is contributing to spring pollen concentrations.

“We had a lot of pollen in February, which is unusual,” he said.

A recent study that analyzed pollen counts across the United States over the past 30 years and temperature fluctuations over the same period points to why. They found a strong correlation between temperature and allergy season severity.

With warmer weather, pollen season started about 20 days earlier and lasted eight days longer. Annual production of pollen has also increased by about 20%, mainly because trees produce more of the yellow-green substance. The study authors found that this trend has accelerated over time, with the largest increases seen in recent years.

The further north you go, the more pronounced this trend becomes.

“What we're seeing is that as we move towards the poles, temperatures are warming faster,” Zyszka said.

So someone in Illinois, for example, may be experiencing larger changes in pollen than someone in Texas. However, there is pollen in Texas as well.

Inglefield said this mirrors the symptoms of his own patients, who tell him their allergies are more severe than ever and require more drugs to manage them. Told.

“It’s a very common experience,” he said.

Even more bad news

That's not the only bad news for allergy sufferers. Dr. Leonard Bielory, an allergist and professor of medicine at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in New Jersey, said that when he and his colleagues looked at the sensitization of the U.S. population to different allergens over time, they found that people They said they found that the number of allergens is increasing. The number of people who are sensitive to him has doubled in the past 25 years.

Bieloly says climate may be playing a role in the rise in allergies, but there may be more to it.

“Everyone wants to blame the climate itself, but it could also be a microbiome problem,” he says. Changes in the microbiome (the population of bacteria that lives on our skin and in our guts) can change how our bodies react when we first encounter pollen, prompting an immune system response.

People whose allergy medicines are no longer working as well or who find themselves using rescue inhalers too often may want to try some types of immunotherapy, which calm the immune system and prevent it from overreacting. It might be time to consider it. To your triggers, Inglefield said.

There are currently tablets for grass, ragweed, and dust mites, but if trees are the culprit, allergy shots are the only option.

“In fact, that's probably the most effective thing we can do right now,” Inglefield said.

“What that means is that it might not be useful this season, but it will be useful next spring, so it won't be too much of a problem,” he said.

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