Comments on: Florida, Michigan, California

By: cdawgintpa

cdawgintpa — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:01:44 +0000

i moved here from ohio 10yrs ago @the age of 27. never had allergies til I moved to fl. having never had allergies,i thought I was getting a cold each october. ha ha. when the cold medicine was not helping I decided to try allergy medicine. wow, it worked. now it seems ive got march allergies also. ugh. im moving back to ohio. not just per allergies. should have listened to my dr, fl is a nice place to visit, but not to live. lesson learned. listen to your dr.

By: Gia

Gia — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:37:32 +0000

Vicki, I can relate to you 100%. I moved here (Fort Myers, FL) a year ago and was fine up until 3 months ago. It started with a sore throat, and nasal drainage. Then the dizziness started thanks to fluid accumulating in middle ear. It gets so bad that I also feel like I’ll passing out sometimes. Oh and the fogginess I feel every day is just horrible! It is depressing and debilitating…. nothing helps.
I thought it would be better by now as its almost December but it just gets worse.
Thinking about moving away too but that is costly and I am worried it won’t improve.
I do agree though…. anyone thinking about moving here who has allergies should think twice.

By: michele McLean

michele McLean — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 13:18:37 +0000

I recently moved to New Smyrna Beach on
East coast of Florida- and have had migraines and feel awful. I just started a couple of weeks ago. I’m not sure if it matters where you live- because when I lived in Western NY I had terrible spring allergies and Virginia Beach is horrendous for allergies- year long ( lived there the past 8 yrs) I have friends who take an allergy pill every day who live in VA Beach. It’s funny to me the people who can just pick up and move out of Florida- must be retired- we moved here because of my husband’s job and as you know those are rare to come by nowadays! Guess I will just have to suffer!

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 01:41:38 +0000

A native NY’er and former NE’er, I have been in Florida (Pensacola, in the panhandle) for the past 24 years with occasionally moves back to the Northeast and West Palm Beach. Every summer from June to September, I get incredibly sick as well, possibly due to the grass, weed, and molds. When I was in West Palm, it seemed to be year round mainly due to the ‘things are always in bloom’ season. In north Florida, at least we get some break in the winter from everything, maybe 4-5 months, but I’m seriously considering a move back to colder climates. The stuffiness, inability to breathe, trying to blow my nose and nothing comes out is driving me completely crazy. It seems that since the Hurricane Season of 2004 (Charlie, Francis, Ivan, Jeanne), Dennis in 2005 and who could forget Katrina, which hit parts of Florida, so much “crap” came through that allergies are out of control! If you’re thinking of moving to Florida and have any health issues, I’d reconsider. The sun and beaches are beautiful, but not for the price you have to pay in medical expenses!!! Good luck to everyone with similar problems. I truly feel your pain(s)!!!

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:30:55 +0000

Allergies are a funny thing. I’m in the military so I’ve gotten to experience different areas of the country and how they affect my allergies. In West Virginia and Virginia, never had even a hint of allergies although they run in my family. My first experience was when I attended training in Rhode Island in the spring. Whoaaa Nelly, it was horrendous, dripping nose, very sore throat, watery eyes, the whole 9. Then in Iraq I developed an awful post-nasal drip and attributed it to the dust. Upon arriving in South Florida (Miami), I thought allergies would be the least of my problems, but they have gotten really awful, in particular my post nasal drip, which occasionally increases to the point I barely feel like eating and always feel nautious. I have used neti-pot, etc, and it doesnt seem to help. I have been on Allegra and Flonase for a year, but it barely makes a dent. I’m off to the Sinus and Allergy Center in Hollywood, let’s hope it helps. I’m glad I found this thread, I was beginning to think allergies in South Florida was only my imagination! Can’t wait for some relief, because I really love living here!

By: Vickie Coburn

Vickie Coburn — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 17:17:35 +0000

Hello, I live in Venice Florida and my allergies are so bad that I had to quit my job. I am having a hard time breathing, my head is foggy, my eyes burn and weep, constant nasal drainage, dry throat, and dizziness-sometimes feel as if I will pass out!! I don’t want to move but nothing helps. I also can not take most medications to help due to tacky heart rate when I do. Claritin is like taking a placebo. I wonder if I move back to Missouri if things would improve?? Any suggestions?

By: Jack

Jack — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:18:21 +0000

I have lived in s.w. florida on and off since 1969,until about 2 years ago i never once suffered from allergies. All of a sudden i cant sleep because my nose is constantly plugged and i have sleep apnea,this is a bad situation because i cant use my cpap machine. I have noticed we have had rainy,windy,winters the last 2 years and no rain in the early summer to knock down all the pollen.I also noticed last winter i had an inch of pine pollen on my swimming pool water line tile,this has never happened before and it coincides with the sudden allergies. Anyway,nothing over the counter has helped including zicam,benadrill,sudafed,allavert and zyrtec. Not shure where to go from here.

By: Denise Noble

Denise Noble — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:29:07 +0000

I live in Southern CA where I developed horrible grass allergies. I’m sick 7 months out of the year. If you have grass allergies, this is not the place to be. I go back east and I clear up 80% or more.

By: AllergyNurse

AllergyNurse — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 23:26:23 +0000

Hi Corina,
Worst places for allergies or asthma change rank from year to year and season to season, depending on many variables. Different groups may also use different criteria to calculate rank. I’ve just posted to the top of the blog about the AAFA Allergy Capitals list for 2011. AAFA is considered one of the most reliable sources. Tampa is ranked 86th in AAFA’s most recent report, and 73rd in their Fall allergy report, better than average for most major cities.

This does not mean you will not have problems in Tampa, or any other area, just because it is rqnked better for allergies/asthma by one source or number 3 in another source. There are many individual variables. See my latest post to Allergy Climates:
http://climates.allergynursing.com/?p=721

By: Corinna

Corinna — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 06:08:17 +0000

I’ve lived in northern Florida since 1980 from PA. Then to Tampa area in 1999. I got pleurisy, sinusitis, allergies, bronchitis twice.

Allergens are terrible here.
You get trouble breathing/short of breath, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, headache, congestion, phlegm, itchy dry eyes, dry throat, tired, lethargic, etc…
I’ve been to doctors/allergists. I’ve tried the Benadryl, Zyrtec, Claritin, Sudafed, Atarax, allergy shots made me so sick, nasal sprays that works temporarily then made it worse. It was so bad recently went to hospital and they gave me Benadryl by I.V.

Florida is terrible if you have allergies or asthma.
We are now looking at moving to somewhere that has less allergens.

I read on internet Tampa is #3 worst places to live if you have allergies.

Beautiful sunshine I will miss being sick I will not.