Most challenging cities for allergies

AccuWeather

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.

Transcript

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.

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