It can easily be argued that the changing seasons in Western New York include summers that rival the best in the world.
They also bring on some of the worst allergy seasons in America.
Buffalo ranks eighth for the most daunting nationwide, according to a new report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
“The beauty about this area is the nature,” said Dr. Roland Honeine, an allergist and immunologist with Buffalo Medical Group. “The price to pay for this beauty is having worse allergies.”
Scranton, Pa., topped the list of “2022 Allergy Capitals,” an annual look at the 100 largest U.S. metro regions. Wichita, Kan., and South Texas followed. Albany was No. 10; Syracuse, 16.
Seattle ranked last, just above Durham, N.C., Denver and several other West Coast regions.
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The rankings considered spring and fall pollen count scores, over-the-counter allergy medication use and the regional availability of board-certified allergists and immunologists.
Why did Buffalo rank so high?
The region has an adequate number of allergy specialists, said Honeine, an allergy sufferer himself, who pointed to climate as the reason.
Pollen-related allergic reactions are strongest when trees and plants bloom in spring and weeds bloom in fall.
Spring pollen season tends to last many weeks in warmer U.S. climates but unfolds in a tighter, more intense window in Western New York. Later in the year, warmer fall conditions allow ragweed season to linger before a first hard frost ends the pollination cycle. Both spike pollen counts, casting a double whammy for seasonal allergy sufferers and traditionally pushing the region high in national allergy rankings, Honeine said.
Climate change has further compressed the window between winter and summer, shortening springlike conditions, he said, and lengthened balmier autumn temperatures, further driving pollen counts and adding to the burden.
“We’ve been seeing a steady increase in pollen counts over the last decade,” he said. “We’ve seen patients coming in with more and more symptoms. It gets worse every year.”
Climate change worsened already challenging conditions for seasonal allergy sufferers in the Buffalo region, says Dr. Roland Honeine, an allergist and immunologist with Buffalo Medical Group and president of the Buffalo Asthma & Allergy Society.
A warm spell in February 2021 that led to two pollen bursts last spring also helps account for Buffalo’s standing in the latest report, Honeine said, along with other differences researchers have yet to fully understand. All lead to greater use of over-the-counter medications, another important measure that explains why Buffalo ranks high.
Pollen counts are generally higher when it’s drier and windy, and lower when it rains. The pollen count was 2.2 out of 12 on Wednesday. It climbed above 10 by Thursday, where it expected to stay for the next few days. It was expected to reach 11.8 on Saturday, according to pollen.com.
Those numbers set up the kind of conditions that create troubling symptoms that can go far beyond sinus congestion sneezing and watery eyes.
“People can’t wear their contact lenses,” Honeine said. “I have patients having difficulty sleeping because of nasal congestion. It may also affect focus during the day. It’s not a cosmetic issue. This is really something that affects your quality of life.”
Urban density also helps explain added suffering in recent decades, according to the 2022 Allergy Capitals report. This tends to have the greatest proportional impact on Black and Hispanic Americans, who already have higher rates of asthma and allergies due to “a long history of discrimination in U.S. housing policies,” the report concludes.
“Millions of people already have seasonal allergic rhinitis, and pollen allergies are a major cause,” the researchers write. “If this cycle continues, we may see the number of people with seasonal allergies increase.”
Steps that can ease symptoms include medication, nasal flushing, indoor air filters and spending time outdoors wisely, including wearing a mask if needed. Contact your primary care provider if more support is needed.
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