Question:
I live in Brooklyn, NY and my allergies have been fierce over the last few
weeks. There are many times when I sneeze almost non-stop. I heard that the
tree-pollen counts have very high this year. Are there any other allergens that
have been especially bad this year? In general, which allergens are usually
worst at this time of year, besides tree pollens? Another thing: I've read that it usually takes 2-3 years for allergies to
develop and so moving to a dif. area can give someone 2-3 yrs. of relief. How
far does one have to move? Which parts of the U.S. are considered 'pollen-free'
or 'low-pollen'? I know New Hampshire is. Even if a place isn't pollen-free, if
the trees and plants there are very dif., would it also help? Would I likely get
relief if I went to Florida? What about Australia? (Two places I am thinking of
moving to)
Answer:
there is a lot of mold at this time of year as well as chemical spraying go on which
many people react to and confuse with other things, if that is your problem it is
very hard to get away from in any area where there are people or farms ect. One way to identify which pollens are currently at high levels is to
use web sites that allow you to check pollen levels for your zip code --
what's high in one area may not be so high in your area. Among sites
offering this are:
www.pollen.com
www.intellicast.com
www.clearbreathing.com My current favorite is www.clearbreathing.com -- you'll have to register
to use the air quality forecast feature, but it provides individual air
quality ratings for your area for weather, pollen and pollution. (The
site also provides a survey following registration, but you don't need to
complete the survey to use the site).
Have you undergone allergy testing? The thing to remember about allergies
is that it's kind of "no matter where you go, there you are"... moving
isn't always an effective solution. I had severe allergies on the west
coast, moved to the east coast and my allergies became even more severe.
