If your eyes are watering, your head feels ready to explode and you’re sneezing like you just left the bathroom at Studio 54, you’re not alone. That’s just spring in San Antonio.
But how bad do our allergies stack up with the rest of the country? Pretty bad. Top 5 bad, in fact.
That’s right, San Antonio is the fifth-worst place in the United States for spring allergies, according to a new report from the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America (AAFA). The four cities ahead of us are, in order, McAllen; Louisville, Ky.; Jackson, Miss.; and Memphis, Tenn.
The AAFA report ranks cities on three factors:
- Pollen and mold counts
- Allergy medication usage
- Availability of board-certified allergists
S.A.’s poll and mold counts were ranked “worse than average” (how’s that for an understatement?), which outstripped the fact that our consumption of allergy meds and number of allergists was only “average.”
So, that was the bad news. Ready for the really bad news?
Allergy sufferers aren’t likely to see much relief on the horizon, according to AAFA. Spring attacks have only gotten worse due to longer, warmer growing seasons that produce stronger pollen and in bigger amounts. And those are an effect of global climate change.
So, climate-change deniers, if melting polar ice caps aren’t enough to scare you, here’s hoping the prospect of a longer, sneezier, snottier allergy season leads you to your woke moment.
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This article appears in Apr 25 – May 1, 2018.
