Tell Us

Tell us: Are your seasonal allergies worse this year?

Spring has arrived in New England, and if it feels like your allergies are more severe this year, it’s not just your imagination. Here’s why they might be getting worse.

By Annie Jonas

May 10, 2024

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email
• 2

Spring is in full bloom in New England. Sunny skies, warmer temperatures, and flowering plants have swept across the region, bringing an end to the winter season.

Yet for many allergy sufferers, the arrival of spring comes with the annoying return of seasonal allergy symptoms: sneezing, a runny nose, sinus pressure, and itchy eyes, among others.

If it feels like your allergy symptoms are getting longer and more severe, it’s not just your imagination.

Allergy levels began rapidly climbing to high and medium-high levels across the region by mid-April, according to pollen.com. And scientists say that warming temperatures brought on by climate change have made ragweed – the primary allergen that triggers hay fever – grow faster and produce more pollen under rising carbon dioxide levels. Warmer temperatures have also produced longer growing seasons, allowing bigger ragweed plants to produce more pollen that lingers into the fall. Come springtime, tree pollen could also get worse.

“There’s no question [that] as there’s global warming, the pollen season is increasing,” Sanjiv Sur, MD, director and professor of Allergy and Immunology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, told The Association of American Medical Colleges.

If you’re suffering from seasonal allergies, you’re not alone. One in four adults and one in five children in the United States reported suffering from seasonal allergies, according to a 2021 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Luckily, there are many ways to manage your symptoms. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America suggests the best way to prevent allergy symptoms and limit the need for allergy medicine is to avoid your allergens. This could look like removing the source of allergens from your home or washing out your nose daily (either by using a nasal saline rinse or a Neti pot). 

Of course, there are also many safe prescription and over-the-counter medicines to relieve allergy symptoms. These range from nasal sprays, to antihistamines, to creams or ointments, and more. Immunotherapy, such as allergy shots and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), in which allergists give patients small doses of an allergen under the tongue, is another option as well.

Do your seasonal allergies seem to be getting worse? Have you noticed a difference this season compared to previous seasons? What are some ways you manage your symptoms?

Tell us by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.

Sorry. This form is no longer available.