Your Allergies May Be Getting Worse

Plants are blooming right now – and so are people's allergies. And if it feels like those pesky symptoms are getting worse ... you're probably right. Wednesday, a review https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lary.32124 published in the journal The Laryngoscope looked at the link between climate change and increasing rates of allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. So today, we turn back to a classic Short Wave episode from Brit Hanson and Maddie Sofia, who spoke to allergy expert Dr. Juanita Mora https://www.lung.org/media/meet-our-experts/juanita-mora-md about some quick tips for managing seasonal allergies. Want more of the science behind your health questions? Send us an email at [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave http://plus.npr.org/shortwave. See pcm.adswizz.com https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

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• 0:19Emily Kwong?

  You're listening to Short Wave from NPR.

• 0:24Emily Kwong?

  Hey, Short Wavers. Emily Kwong reporting to you from the northeastern US, where I can tell you, spring has sprung. I mean, if it feels like your allergies or the people around you's allergies are getting worse, you're probably right. Wednesday, actually, a review was published in the journal Laryngoscope, looking at the link between climate change and allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. What they found confirms what we discussed in a classic Short Wave episode by Britt Hanson and Maddie Safia.

• 0:54Emily Kwong?

  Today on the show, we revisit Britt's investigation into whether allergy season is getting worse every year. Britt and Maddie talk to an expert and get quick tips for dealing with allergies, which affects over 68 million adults in the US. You're listening to Short Wave, the science podcast from NPR.

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• 2:35Speaker 03

  Okay, Britt, we are talking about whether or not allergy season is getting worse. So who'd you talk to?

• 2:42Speaker 04

  Yeah, so I called Dr. Juanita Mora. She's an allergist and immunologist based in Chicago.

• 2:48Speaker 05

  As an allergist, I get to treat people of all ages, from little babies all the way to adults with environmental allergies, asthma, hives, eczema.

• 3:01Speaker 04

  Maddie, she absolutely loves her job, especially because of that bit she mentioned about working with generations, babies, adolescents, parents, grandparents, all in the same family. And she does a lot of education and outreach in the community, too.

• 3:17Speaker 03

  I want her to be my allergist, Britt.

• 3:19Speaker 04

  I know, right? So Maddie, one of the things that Juanita wanted to make really clear when I asked her about whether or not allergy season is getting longer is that we were specifically talking about seasonal allergies.

• 3:33Speaker 03

  To like pollen?

• 3:34Speaker 04

  Exactly.

• 3:35Speaker 05

  Springtime, which is tree pollen, summertime, which is grass pollen, and radweed, which is fall. And then you have the mix of mold in the spring and fall as well, too.

• 3:45Speaker 03

  What a mix, Britt, what a mix. Okay, so what did you find out? This is an investigative report, and I want answers.

• 3:52Speaker 04

  Okay, okay, okay. I'm just gonna play the tape. It feels like allergy season is getting worse every year. Is that actually true? Is allergy season getting worse?

• 4:03Speaker 05

  So definitely, allergy seasons are getting longer, so spanning more days. And we're also seeing higher numbers of pollen levels as well, too.

• 4:13Speaker 03

  Okay, all right, well, that was easy. You were right. I mean, do we know why the pollen levels are higher and the seasons are getting longer? I have an idea, but I want you to tell me.

• 4:22Speaker 04

  Okay, so Juanita says that there are a couple of factors that are key to understanding why. So let's start with factor number one.

• 4:32Speaker 04

  There's just more pollen in general.

• 4:34Speaker 03

  Hmm.

• 4:35Speaker 04

  And one big reason for that is more carbon dioxide.

• 4:39Speaker 05

  We know that sunlight combined with carbon dioxide fuels the growth of plants. So whenever we have more carbon dioxide in the air, then we have more pollen production.

• 4:52Speaker 03

  Okay, so basically, the more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more pollen that is produced.

• 4:57Speaker 04

  Yeah, that's right. And here's the bad news. We know that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased more than 25% over about 50 years' time.

• 5:08Speaker 03

  Hmm.

• 5:08Speaker 04

  And a big reason for that is carbon emissions caused by humans. So as the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is rising, so is the amount of pollen being produced by lots of plants, at least up to a point.

• 5:24Speaker 03

  Okay, what is factor number two?

• 5:27Speaker 04

  Rising temperatures.

• 5:29Speaker 05

  Now we have overlapping seasons as well, too, with the increased rising temperatures. So you have trees consisting with grass, and now you have grass with actual ragweed and molds. So it makes allergy sufferers even more aware of their symptoms.

• 5:45Speaker 04

  So Maddie, not only is there more pollen being produced in general because of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there's also more pollen because the longer warm weather lasts, the longer the pollen season.

• 5:59Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 5:59Speaker 04

  Basically, higher temperatures are causing pollen to start growing sooner and then keep it growing longer.

• 6:07Speaker 03

  Bah.

• 6:07Speaker 04

  Yeah, one recent study found that the pollen season in North America has lengthened more than 20 days, from 1990 to 2018.

• 6:17Speaker 03

  Right, I feel like a lot of this comes back to climate change. I mean, increased CO2, rising temperatures, like, I know it's pretty complicated. Like, am I oversimplifying this here?

• 6:27Speaker 04

  You're not, not at all. Juanita says that that's the capital B big factor, climate change. So let's take ragweed, for example. One study done in Europe estimates that by 2050, airborne ragweed pollen concentrations could be about four times higher than they are right now.

• 6:47Speaker 04

  And researchers say that climate change is one of the major contributing factors.

• 6:52Speaker 05

  Because of the increased carbon dioxide levels, the rising temperatures, it's the perfect storm for this.

• 6:59Speaker 03

  Wow. All right. Well, honestly, Brett, all you did was bring me bad news today.

• 7:02Speaker 04

  I'm the worst. So, OK, how about this? I'll share a bit of helpful allergy advice with you and all of our fellow allergy sufferers.

• 7:11Speaker 03

  I think at this point, it's the least you could do, Brett Hanson.

• 7:14Speaker 04

  OK, so Juanita shared a few tips with me, and I've been using them myself. So tip number one, if it's allergy season, do not sleep with your windows open.

• 7:26Speaker 03

  Hmm.

• 7:26Speaker 04

  And if you like, go out for a drive, keep your windows up in the car, too.

• 7:31Speaker 03

  OK, I didn't know that. Keep the outside out. Got it. Check.

• 7:34Speaker 04

  Exactly. So tip number two, if you are outside for any extended period of time, take a shower when you come home.

• 7:43Speaker 03

  OK, wash the outside off you and your clothes if you go out there.

• 7:47Speaker 04

  Yes. And lastly, tip number three, check the pollen count online. You can, you can also like, download one of these apps that shows you the pollen count in your area. It's really helpful.

• 7:59Speaker 03

  OK, so like, I know when it's getting really bad out there.

• 8:01Speaker 04

  Exactly.

• 8:02Speaker 03

  All right, I'm about to download that. OK. All right, Brett, thank you so much for validating the allergy struggle and also for sharing some tips with us.

• 8:09Speaker 04

  Oh, my God, no problem. Matty, one more thing, though. Juanita says that these masks we're all wearing to keep ourselves and other people safe during the pandemic, those are great for lessening allergy symptoms, too. So bonus, wear your mask, everybody. Just do it.

• 8:28Speaker 03

  Love it.

• 8:31Speaker 04

  This episode was reported and produced by me, Brett Hanson.

• 8:36Speaker 03

  Fact-checked by Rasha Reedy and edited by Viet Le. The audio engineer for this episode was Josh Newell. I'm Matty Safia. Thanks for listening to Short Wave from NPR.

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