Struggling Through Longer Allergy Seasons? You’re Not Alone

If you think allergy seasons are getting longer and more unbearable, you’re not alone. From 1995 to 2015, ragweed pollen season increased 15 days in the La Crosse area, and up to 25 days in other areas of the country. Why is this happening, and what can you do to feel better? This blog explains it all.

The Study

On top of Allergy Associates of La Crosse’s roof is an air sampler that captures pollen floating in the air on a sticky slide. Our pollen count expert and certified pollen counter, Tony Kavanaugh, looks under a microscope to determine which pollens are present, and how many. If you see the pollen count for the La Crosse area on the news or on social media, it comes straight from Tony on our roof, and can give you an idea of how severe your symptoms may be for the day.

For 20 years, this data was also given to a researcher, Ziska, who compared the length and severity of pollen seasons from year to year across the country. This culmination of nationwide data proved that pollen seasons are getting longer and more severe – this graphic shows the increases.

The Reason

What changed, and what’s making allergy sufferers struggle for longer? Many experts point to changing climate trends.

The increase of carbon monoxide in our air is good for some plants, and they use it almost like a fertilizer to make more pollen. That, along with the increased temperatures, make for ideal growing conditions for some plants. As they continue to thrive, they release more pollen and for longer periods of time, causing more itching and sneezing for those who have allergies.

The Impact

Those with seasonal allergies feel the impact – they’re feeling sick for longer and longer intervals each year. Pollen allergies can cause symptoms like:

• Itchy and watery eyes and nose
• Sneezing
• Congestion
• Aggravated asthma symptoms

While we can do our own part to reduce the effects of climate change, it may be best to treat the cause of your allergy rather than wait for the environment to go back to some level of normal.

Allergy drops following The La Crosse Method™ Protocol are made custom to each patient after thorough testing, exam, and history. Using the specific level of sensitivity determined through testing, allergy drops are made to contain all offending environmental allergies at those specific levels.

Over time, the strength of allergen doses is slowly and safely increased so that the body becomes used to more and more of the problem allergens. The goal is that once treatment is done, the body is so used to the allergen, that when exposed in the real world, there will be no reaction.

It’s been used successfully for 275,000+ sufferers – consider it for yourself. Schedule a consult with the providers at AAOL today.