- Resource | Baptist Health South Florida - https://showcase.republicahavas.com/websites/baptist-health-news -

What to Do When Seasonal Allergies Spring to Life

Tens of millions of Americans experience seasonal allergies, with spring being the time of year when sneezing, coughing and other allergy symptoms are most prevalent. And the number of allergy sufferers is likely to climb higher due to climate change, according to research.

Warmer temperatures and increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the air are having significant effects on the pollen released from plants, says research presented to members of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). Global climate shifts are altering the time when plants release their pollen, the length of time the pollen is released and also making pollen stronger, the study found.

“More people seem to be bothered by seasonal allergies, and I think that climate change is definitely playing a role,” said Rozan Razzouk, M.D. [1], a primary care physician with Baptist Health Primary Care [2] in Miami. “In a subtropical climate like South Florida, where there’s a lot of trees and more rain and wind to spread pollen, people are more prone to being affected.”

Allergies and Global Warming

In the year 2000, pollen counts averaged 8,455. Fast forward to 2040, and those counts are anticipated to reach 21,735, according to a news release [3] citing the research study.  The research at Rutgers University also found the typical allergy season, which is usually spring, will begin earlier every year.

In areas that experience a lot of humidity, seasonal allergies no longer seem to be confined to traditional springtime. Doctors in those climates say they treat sneezing, coughing and itchy eyes caused by pollen in the air year-round.

“There’s really no break from allergies in a humid climate,” Dr. Razzouk said. “In Miami, we’ll usually only see a slight break in the late fall and early winter months, when the air tends to be dryer and not as hot.”

Children and Seasonal Allergies 

Children can also feel the effects of seasonal allergies, and medication given while they’re babies may contribute. New research is linking the use of antibiotics in babies to allergies later in life.

Antibiotics given during the first 6 months of life increases by 50 percent a child’s risk for developing allergies to pollen and dust and doubles their risk of asthma, according to a study [4] published earlier this month in JAMA Pediatrics.

Between April 2015 and January 2018, researchers studied the development of allergies, such as allergic rhinitis, contact dermatitis, asthma and food allergy in more than 790,000 children who were born between 2001 and 2013.

The study also draws a link between the use of acid-suppresive medications and allergies and asthma. Infants exposed to antacids had double the risk of developing food allergies and a 50 percent increase in asthma risk, the research found.

“Any medication that targets the body’s microbes can throw the immune system off balance,” Dr. Razzouk said. “An allergy is the result of the body’s overreaction to a foreign substance, like pollen, in an attempt to get rid of it.”

Tips for Controlling Seasonal Allergies

For adults and children suffering from sneezing, itchy eyes and other bothersome symptoms caused by seasonal allergies, Dr. Razzouk shares these tips for controlling them: