This story is originally appeared on VOX and is part Air conditioning cooperation.
The warming spring air is a welcome relief from Unbelievably cold winter In most United States, but millions of seasonal people suffering from allergies are buried under the pollen tsunami, with sneezing, headache, watery eyes and stuffed bays sending them indoors.
Atlanta now broke the record of the number of pollenWith 14,801 grains per cubic meter, throwing pine, oak and birch out of trees. Houston The highest number of pollen has also been reported since 2013, when the registration began.
. Asthma and American Allergies Foundation (Aafa) designs that 2025 will be another brutal year for seasonal allergies throughout the country, with the worst cities in the Southern United States. Your red eyes and liquid your noses do not cheat you – seasonal allergies are getting worse, unhappy reality for almost one in three adults in the USA and one for four children.
Why? Sneezing and sniffing are some of Sirena climate change. In fact, due to warming of pollen, it is currently almost a year’s threat in some parts of the USA. Pollen, the main trigger of seasonal allergy, appears at the beginning of the year, in higher concentrations and lasts longer a year after year. “In spring, the first pollen allergens come from trees, and this starts 20 days earlier than 30 years ago,” he said Kenneth MendezAafa CEO. The growing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are directly induceing plants to produce more pollen, while expanding the temperature conditions that cause pollen production in plants.
“We hear all the time:” I have never had allergies before, and now I suddenly feel that I have allergies “or” I feel that my allergies are much worse “, and this is because the allergic load is much higher due to climate change,” said Mendez.
For most people, seasonal allergies are an unpleasant nuisance. But with a feeling of millions Blergh At the same time, it contributes to a huge economic burden on loss of performance. Asthma, allergic rhinitis – a condition that you probably know as hay fever – and related allergies The cost of the economy of billions of dollars Every year in lost work days, medicines and medical visits.
There are also people for whom pollen is a more stern problem and can lead to risky complications or exacerbating other health problems. One study showed that allergies to wood pollen are conducting 25,000 to 50,000 visits to the ambulance Annually two -thirds from people under 18 years of age.
With time, as the number of pollen increases, more people with a higher sensitivity threshold find out that these miniature beans pose a threat. Other people also learn that doors and windows cannot protect them, because some of the smallest pollen grains penetrate.
“If the trend lines are continued, I think more people will be unhappy because of allergies,” said Mendez.
How we still deteriorate allergies
The problem for people suffering from allergies is that their body’s defense mechanisms sometimes precede something soft. This usually leads to soft, straightforward to treat symptoms. But allergens can also cause more stern complications such as Asthma attackscausing wheezing, chest pressure and shortness of breath. In uncommon cases they can lead to anaphylaxisThe reaction of the whole body in which the respiratory tract can swell and blood pressure drops to dangerously low levels.
The huge majority of pollen allergies are more annoying than risky, but seasonal pollen is so ubiquitous that it is almost impossible to avoid, slipping at home through ventilation holes, window seals, clothing and animal fur.