By Damon Raskin, M.D. | Special to the Palisadian-Post
Q:I’ve noticed that my seasonal allergies are worse than ever this year! Do allergies become more severe over time? Or can this actually be a result of climate change, like people are claiming?
The oceans are getting warmer, the polar ice caps are melting—and more people are sneezing! Climate change is real, and it is having a real effect on allergies and asthma.
I am seeing this first hand in my office, as I used to start seeing patients complaining of seasonal allergies around mid-March, but now I am seeing more and more patients in the middle of February or even earlier. They are having itchier eyes, more severe nasal congestion, and increased episodes of coughing and wheezing. Why is this happening?
A new study published in the journal Nature Communications has revealed that climate change has made allergy season longer and pollen counts higher, and this will continue to worsen in the coming years. Warmer weather allows plants to start blooming earlier and continue to bloom later in the season. In addition, carbon dioxide in the air from burning coal, gasoline and natural gas helps plants produce more pollen.
The study showed that if carbon emissions are not curbed, pollen season could start 10 to 40 days earlier and last five to 20 days longer, with pollen counts tripling in some places. The study goes on to predict that rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could increase pollen production by 200% by 2100.
About 30% of the world and 40% of American children have pollen allergies, which can lead to lost workdays, school absences and higher medical costs. This will be even worse for the 25 million Americans who suffer from asthma, many which stem from allergies. The belief is that people will probably feel worse and need more medication as time goes on, and more people will likely become allergic to pollen as well.
Periods of high pollen have also been linked to susceptibility to respiratory viruses, and the inflammation in the nasal passages from allergies can also lead to recurrent sinus infections. Because the symptoms can often overlap, it can often be confusing if you are having allergy symptoms or coming down with a cold virus or even COVID-19.
It can be very helpful to get skin or blood testing to see if you do have allergies, and then make a plan with your medical provider on how to deal with the allergies if they are found. There are numerous over-the-counter products, as well as prescriptions and shots, that can help allergy sufferers. But if you do not get tested, you can’t pinpoint the best solution.
To answer your other question, some allergies kids can grow out of as they get older. However, some allergies can get worse over time, especially to foods, latex and bee stings. What might be a mild reaction to a first exposure can be near fatal after re-exposure, so it is important to speak to your doctor about options such as carrying an epinephrine pen to self-inject in case of a severe allergic reaction.
While wearing masks have been helpful over the last two years in preventing colds and viruses, they have also been making a dent in some patients exposed to pollen, ragweed and tree allergies. But as we are all taking the masks off and enjoying the summer weather outside, we are getting hit with more exposure. That means we all need to try to do our part with reducing fossil fuels so we can use less Kleenex and rely a little less on our asthma inhalers.
Have a question you want to see answered by Dr. Raskin? Send it to mypost@palipost.com for consideration.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.