AccuWeather speaks with Kenneth Mendez of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) who breaks down the most challenging U.S. cities for people who suffer with allergies.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00It is the season. The spring allergy season is underway and where you live can make a big
00:04difference for allergy sufferers. Each year the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America selects
00:09the 10 most challenging cities for seasonal allergies. Here with the 2025 allergy capitals
00:17is AAFA CEO Kenneth Mendez. Thanks so much for being with us. What are some of the factors that
00:24contribute to a city being ranked in your allergy capital report? Thanks for having me. We use
00:31three things to rank our cities. We actually look at the top 100 but we use pollen counts,
00:38over-the-counter medication usage, and access to allergy specialists. It's those three elements
00:45that combine in the rankings and if you're worse than those then you're higher up on the scale and
00:50have a more challenging place to live in. Well let's take a look at the map. There appears to be
00:55two clusters, one in the central midwest and another in the southeast in Virginia and the
01:02Carolinas. Why is that? Yeah so again when you look at the three elements that we use and I'd
01:10say predominantly it's the pollen and the trees in the southeast and then access to specialists.
01:17Certainly Wichita, Kansas, which is number one for the third year in a row, lacks access to
01:23specialists. But in general it's the environment and then over-the-counter medication usage where
01:29we track that and we see if you're more miserable there's more over-the-counter medication usage.
01:34But in general when you're looking at this map think about the climate, think about the trees
01:38and the pollen that are around there and what the weather might have been in the previous year. So
01:43there's a lot of moisture in the south and the allergy seasons are getting longer and more intense
01:49because of climate change. And you see your name maybe on the map or see your town on the map,
01:54what can people do if they live in a city that is challenging for those who suffer from allergies?
02:00Well first thing we say is know what your triggers are, see an allergy specialist,
02:04which is why that's one of the rankings. So you know what your triggers are and then start taking
02:09your over-the-counter medication if that provides some relief before the allergy season starts
02:15because sometimes you need to get that in your system. And then make sure that you avoid being
02:20outside during high pollen events. So stay indoors and if you have to go outdoors and you come indoors
02:26leave your coat at the door. If you're walking your dog, wash your dog off if you can. And make sure
02:33that the indoor air quality, have an air purifier indoors, keep the windows closed. Those are really
02:39important things to manage your triggers. All right Kenneth Mendez, CEO of the Asthma and Allergy
02:45Foundation of America. Thanks for joining us here on AccuWeather Early. Just a lot of great information.
02:52Absolutely. Great, thank you.