If you live in the South, especially Tennessee, this spring allergy season is going to be a doozy. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) recently compiled a list of the worst metro areas for spring allergies in the country this year, and six out of the top 10 were located in Southern states, with two Tennessee cities making the list.
The more than 45 million Americans who suffer from pollen or grass allergies should be bracing themselves for a particularly bad allergy season this year, according to AAFA. The long, cold winter has delayed the spring release of pollen, meaning that the spring allergy season will continue into summer, when even more pollen will be released.
There's also a more sinister culprit behind this year's terrible allergy season: climate change. Due to increasingly warm springs and summers, plants are pollinating for longer than they did in the past, and carbon dioxide in the air encourages them to pollinate even more. Studies have also shown that the greenhouse gases that are building up in the atmosphere can lead to bigger and more potent allergen particles, causing pollen to become "super-charged."
Using pollen counts for each metro area, the availability of allergists and allergy medication use rates, AAFA ranked American cities by how rough this season is likely to be for allergen sufferers who live there. Here are the top 10:
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- McAllen, Texas
- Wichita, Kansas
- Dayton, Ohio
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Richmond, Virginia
If you live in any of these cities or their surrounding areas, your best defense is a good offense. Stock up on allergy control products from Allergy Be Gone today to be prepared for when the worst of the season hits your area.
