Allergies Are Worse Than Ever Right Now. Here's What Scientists Are Saying About It.

I am a leaking, sneezing, itchy-eyed, coughing, hacking mess… and I think the majority of you reading this are in the same boat.

I’m sad everyone is suffering, but I’m glad I’m not alone looking like some contagious person with the plague.

About 1 in 4 adults in America suffer from spring allergies and mine just seems to get worse every year.

I never used to have allergies like this, only food allergies. Now I have allergenic conjunctivitis ALL OF THE TIME. Yes, pink eye… just not the contagious one.

I have a cough that lingers and I’m so tired of loading up on Benadryl day after day! Allergy season are lasting longer and hitting people harder than ever before.

You could say that pollen pisses off the immune system. So why is it worse now?

Scientists are blaming climate change. They say that global warming is the cause.

The reason they say this is prolonging and worsening allergens is that as the climate warms, it allows trees and plants to expand their ranges. Which in turn prolongs the allergy season.

They said that the increased temperatures is making plants bloom earlier and prolonging pollination. Increased rainfall is being blamed for causing pollen grains to burst, which they say is worse for allergies.

At least in some areas of the world, pollen is being distributed more widely. And people are being potentially exposed to different types of pollen that they weren’t before.
Dr. Mary Margaret Johnson, a principal research scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health