March 23, 2006

27 Comments »

1. The best way to find the answer is to check out the Locations in the menu on the right. These are real, live experiences from people who have lived with allergies in those areas.

   Another thing to keep in mind, though, is that what works for one may not work for another. For example, a person allergic to mold may suffer in a damp climate, while a person with pollen allergies may feel better when the rain washes everything down.

   Feel free to share your climate experiences here also!

   Comment by AllergyNurse — March 28, 2006 @ 12:10 am

2. I AGREE with you! I keep hearing that it will not make a difference BUT I grew up in Texas and suffered horrible headaches and allergies. Then I moved to Boston and had only ONE headache the entire 7 years I lived there. I also did not suffer in the spring like I do here. Now that I’m back in Texas, my headaches and allergies have returned full blown. I’m still trying to do research as to why I felt better up north - shorter growing season and less pollen? cooler temps? less landscaping? There is not a lot of documentation on this. Debating going back…. Hang in there - you’re not alone!

   Comment by Kell — June 4, 2006 @ 6:27 am

3. I can tell you this much… do not come to Texas. It has to be one of the worse places on the planet for people with allergies and especially Asthma.

   My wifes Asthma gets so bad at times I truly think she is going to explode from coughing.

   Andrew

   Comment by Andrew Daum — September 20, 2006 @ 8:26 pm

4. I like Santa Maria, California. But one way to check is to get online and check the number of allergists and dermatologists there are in an area and call to see the waiting time for an appointment.

   Also, there are US weather maps that show the mold and pollen maps for each day. I have been collecting and saving these in my photos file on my pc and it is my screensaver. I have been notating which cities seem safe.

   San Diego seems safe as well as this little slice of heaven where I now live.

   Comment by Tracy — March 2, 2007 @ 12:24 am

5. I used to live in Iowa and only rarely had allergy symptoms — never enough to require medicine. Since the first year we moved to Texas, my allergies have been a year-round torment. Texas is an awful place for allergies. I found this recent info on better cities for allergy sufferers:

   http://www.schering-plough.com/schering_plough/news/release.jsp?releaseID=516761

   The good news for allergy sufferers living in or traveling to one of the following cities, is that you may get a vacation from your symptoms. The best cities for allergy sufferers are: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI (2); Seattle, WA (3); San Francisco, CA (4); Minneapolis, MN (5); Chicago, IL (6); Syracuse, NY (7); Salt Lake City, UT (8); Los Angeles, CA (9); and Denver, CO (10).

   Comment by Lewis — March 4, 2007 @ 10:22 am

6. Thanks for sharing this, Lewis! I just posted an item about this to the top of the blog with a reference here to your comments. The permalink for the item is here:
   http://climates.allergynursing.com/2007/03/06/best-places/

   Comment by AllergyNurse — March 6, 2007 @ 7:55 pm

7. ISLANDS are the best places for me… I grew up in Texas with really bad allergies. They only go away when I’m near the ocean: like in Southern California, or on the islands in the mid-to-north Atlantic, like Assateague and Manhattan.

   Comment by allergygirl — April 16, 2007 @ 8:04 pm

8. West coasts (and I mean, really on the coast) can be good for many people because the prevailing wind is from the ocean. By contrast, even if you are living on the Jersey shore, you’re breathing a skyful of New Jersey pollen.

   Of course, all of these conversations are meaningless without a discussion of the particular allergen one is sensitive to. Find out what sets you off, then find a place where those plants don’t exist.

   Comment by Mountainecho — April 22, 2007 @ 8:48 am

9. My little girl has suffered from a sever case of eczema since infancy. Allergy tests show that she is allergic to most everything, including pollen & mold. Does anyone have any specific information about the best places to live for those with severe skin conditions like eczema? We’re nearing desperation because her eczema leaves her open to serious probelms, like staph infections, which she is battling all the time. My daughter is in kindergarten now and the school is concerned because she has missed over 40 days of school because of her discomfort or because of infections.

   I just read that our area made the number #3 spot on the list for the worst places to live for allergy sufferers — but I’d like to know if anyone else out there with eczema found relief after moving to another area of the US.

   Any feedback on this would be very much appreciated!

   Comment by ltm — April 25, 2007 @ 6:20 pm

10. had the worst case of asthma all doctors said since 8mo.
    old of an unessesary blood transfution which sent to ER all the time turning blue, kansas and nebraska seemed i almost died there, then we moved to wyo.-40degrees mild summers at where my asthma stopped and I began to grow at age 13 I was the 99 pound weakly , but I gained 46 pounds of solid hard musle and was able to fight back bullies twice my size.
    years past i lived in houston for 25 years, now south texas, my asthma is back,advair was the cure but now I couch up phlem alot, my lung function is under 40 percent.213 pounds …ephysemia since 10 years old.
    I need to get out of here ..high and dry, Im 51 and each day is a fight to live. I want to go to nicaragua mountains there r some. I dont think ill live to see it but try I will.
    ty
    Larry

    Comment by larry hanson — May 4, 2007 @ 3:04 pm

11. I grew up in Atlanta, GA area with bad allergies, that as an adult finally got so bad I left my home state in hopes of finding a healthier place to live. And for aabout 5 yrs, I had in San Jose, CA (south of SF). An allergist here once told me, given the severity of my allergies previously, if they hadn’t developed within a couple years of living here they weren’t likely to - not true. For the last 3 springs - after living here 7 yrs - I have had miserable springs, I believe due to late heavy winter rains.
    It is so true that what area is best for you depends on what you are sensitive to. Many people here say this is the worst place to live because everything grows here. I’ve heard & say the South is the Allergy Capitol because of the humidity - it amplifies everything, esp molds!
    So now I too am contemplating moving on to another state, but don’t know where I would do best for the longest term. Desert? Wyoming with its frigid winters & mild summers? I do love snow & mountains! What about Montana? Any opinions? Near the Rockies, of course!

    Any suggestions appreciated…..

    Linda

    Comment by Linda — May 9, 2007 @ 9:20 pm

12. I live in Tulsa, Ok. Since the day I arrived, I have been sneezing, coughing and now I’m seem very prone to sinus infections.

    I grew up in this area of Ok, but live for 10 years in Los Angeles, CA witout any problems…

    I take a tablet/day for the allergy, for the most part it has stopped the continuing attacks…but as I said there seems to be no way to stop the attacks…except to move. I have a family and moved here to raise the kids, but they see me sick all the time…thats not good for them.

    Any suggestions of a resonable City where I can afford to live?
    Thanks.
    Achoo, Ok

    Comment by Achoo, Ok — June 7, 2007 @ 11:06 am

13. I moved to Austin in 1970 and prior to that time I had no particular problems with allergies. WIthin months of arriving in Austin I was having severe issues.

    This was a seasonal thing until 1996 when my family moved to Pacifica, the Concord California. My problems virtually went away.

    The strangest part of my saga is that since moving back to Austin in 2000 my troubles have never even approached what they were my first time here.

    Comment by Preston — July 23, 2007 @ 3:45 pm

14. I have really bad allergies. I was in the hospital at one time. I am taking shots twice a week. I get 3 shots in each arm. I live in NC. But I still suffer bad. My Dr. told me that I am in the worse possible place to live. But I have been told that when I lived in SC and VA. So where do I go to get some relive. I am allergy to everything coming and going. You name it and I am allergy to it. Everything from your household stuff to everything from outside. Including cut grass, tress, mold is really bad, dust mites, some bugs, etc. So if anybody could tell me some places that I could visit that could help me out I would love it. I also have develope astma due to my allergy problems. I have to take breathing treatments when it get bad. So I am trying to find a place to live that don’t have so much pollin and allthis allergy stuff.

    please e-mail me back with some places
    ehilton64@yahoo.com

    thank you
    Ellen

    Comment by Ellen Browning — July 25, 2007 @ 9:08 pm

15. I sure hope that someone can help me out on some place to check out. I would love to be able to move and be able to enjoy being outside again. I hate having allergy problem. I love being outside. I am a outdoors person. But it has been rough this year on me. I have been threw 12 antibat. Within 9weeks. For sinue infections. Then the Dr. ended up having to give me shots of antib. 3 days in a row. But i still ended up in the hospital. Know my immume system is run down due to all the medicine that I have been on. So I do think I need to start checking out some safter places to live.

    PLEASE HELP

    Ellen

    Comment by Ellen Browning — July 25, 2007 @ 9:15 pm

16. Hello fellow sufferers. I am writing to give a bit of input. I read earlier on the list that Milwaukee-Waukesha is rated highly as a great place to live for eczema sufferers. I have lived in this area for 15 years and still battle the cycle of itching, infection, painful healing and reaction. I am sad to report that this may not be the idyllic place to move to. There are heavy polluters in the area as well as severe, dry winters and a great deal of pollen (due to the surrounding rural area). I too have problems in the humidity (my heritage is Asian, my parents from the Phillipines). My Dad’s eczema cleared up in his twenties, but I am thirty three now and worse than ever. I would like to try the desert as I have had great experience healing in Tuscon, Arizona and Lake Tahoe (well the environment is so clean eh?). Best of luck to us all.

    Comment by Regi — October 7, 2007 @ 2:57 am

17. REGARDING ECZEMA and moving - but also allergies/asthma in general:

    I had bad seasonal allergies/asthma as a child growing up in the DC area. Moldy house and mother smoking didn’t help. I got better in my 20s when I lived in North Carolina but then it all came back terribly in New York City when I was in my late 20s. Each year in NY was worse than the last. After 9/11 (and a year of exposure to that air), I finally developed a rash that covered my entire body and wouldn’t not ever leave.

    My cure: I moved to Miami, FL. I don’t even really hardly suffer seasonal allergies here. My skin is totally clear. I take allegra daily and the nose gets stuffy sometimes but still but all is good. It’s clear and breezy. I’m moving to Los Angeles, and worried a little about breaking the great spell, but I have felt well visiting LA.

    I never felt worse than I did in NYC, even before 9/11.

    If you have a serious, chronic, year-round problem with allergies/eczema, I cannot recommend moving enough. Travel first and see where you feel good.

    YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER!!!

    Comment by Jemma — October 23, 2007 @ 4:18 pm

18. Oh to add to my last note:

    I don’t care that the lists put NYC as an okay place to live for allergies. I can’t breathe there and my skin is a disaster.

    Don’t go by the lists alone…. Trust your instincts about what your body needs. I need that breezy ocean air.

    Comment by Jemma — October 23, 2007 @ 4:19 pm

19. I have been reading that probiotics are a treatment for eczema. Might google probiotics and eczema and see what comes up. Best wishes.

    Comment by J. Nes — October 26, 2007 @ 10:47 am

20. I lived in Alaska for almost 15 years and then moved to the upstate area of South Carolina. Alergies for the family skyrocketed since we moved. I have been to the ER multiple times for asthma. It looks like we are headed back to Alaska. One thing to remember, though, is that the extreme cold air is hard on the lungs. It also dries out the sinuses. While life is better (for me at least) in AK, it is not without it’s own difficulties. Five bouts of sinus surgery up there. The sinus condition is exacerbated by dry air leaving the interior chapped/cracked making it easier for infection to set in. I use Ponaris 2-3x per dayto keep my nose lubricated. Ayr helps as well.

    Comment by Mike McB — December 26, 2007 @ 10:26 am

21. I moved to SouthEastern Washington 4 years ago and my life turned upside down. Splitting headaches, sinus infections, and now severe asthma. The soil here is volcanic and the whole area is agricultural. We are surrounded by wheat fields and there are a lot of orchards. Fruits and vegetables grow beautiful here but the air is not good for allergies and asthma. When I lived in Washington DC metro area I had mild allergies only a few weeks a year, but here it is year-around. I take Advair, Allegra, Singulair, Rhinocort spray but the asthma is only half-way controlled. I still wheeze, can’t exercise, and cough a lot. The only relief I get is from prednisone, which is the worst thing to take and only when I am in bad shape. So I don’t recommend anyone to move to agricultural areas with very dry, windy and dusty climate. We need some good heavy rains to clear the air but not the drizzle and dampness that creates mold. I am also looking for a better place and my opinion is to rent first and stay at least one year before getting settled in a new place.

    Comment by E. Campos — December 29, 2007 @ 11:42 am

22. Response to- #9-by ltm- child with eczema.
    Temperatures, climate, diet, stress, and the list goes on………..
    Eczema, is everything in a ball of frustration for family members who do not have eczema or understand it.
    Please email me and I’ll try to help. For, I have had eczema since two years old and was told I’d grow out of it. For the most part I keep it at bay.

    V/R
    picturelady

    Comment by picturelady — March 2, 2008 @ 8:19 am

23. I’m 51. Prior to moving to Texas, I was allergic to nothing all my previous life. In the military, I hopped around from Watertown NY to Alaska to Michigan to Mississippi, to Louisiana, Syracuse, NY to Germany and had absolutely no allergies whatsoever. I even owned a couple of cats in Germany- no problem. Then I moved to Texas and all hell broke loose. Within the first two years, I habitually carried sinus spray and Pseudophed(sp). I visited a friend who owned a cat and I immediately started sneezing, and my nose started running and my eyes were tearing and itching. Each year it seems to get worse and now I’m pretty much a basket case year round. I got tested and found that I’m allergic to just about everything except food (thank God for small favors). I tried the immunotherapy shots every week for several months but I quit taking them because they just weren’t helping in the least. This summer, it will be 20 years since I moved to Texas, and I’m now considering moving somewhere else because my allergies have put a serious crimp on the quality of my life. I’ve heard conflicting stories about Arizona and Chicago. I would prefer the coast, myself, but the cost of living in places like that tend to be somewhat astronomical. Any suggestions?

    Comment by Rodd — March 20, 2008 @ 7:08 pm

24. I’ve been really allergic and sensitive to molds since I had to receive constant Penicillin shots up to age 10 for strep throats. My body became allergic to molds since Penicillin is a type of mold. The air in Austin is full of molds! I’ve been lucky to not be allergic to grasses and trees and pollens, unlike the rest of my family, UNTIL a year ago, and now I have gotten to experience what they and many other allergy sufferers in Austin have been plagued by.

    Note from AllergyNurse: According to most medical authorities, there is no relationship between penicillin allergy and penicillium mold allergy. It is possible to be allergic to both, but it is also possible to be allergic to one without allergy to the other. Please see:
    http://www.allergynursing.com/questions/penicillium.php

    Comment by Matt Fields — April 7, 2008 @ 8:04 pm

25. Responding to #23 Rodd, you said you don’t have any allergies to food, but I found out that when I don’t eat certain foods like wheat, dairy and corn I don’t suffer as much. Also some websites talk about getting rid of allergies altogether if you eat all raw food, which is tough to stick to, but it makes sense because when we cook we loose the enzymes and our bodies have to work harder. Also the digestion process is incomplete leaving behind undigested particles which can cause inflammation.

    Comment by E. Campos — April 10, 2008 @ 9:00 pm

26. I would like to ask anyone if they have tried using allergy drops under the tongue, called Allergy Easy by Dr. Agren in Arizona. He says that they work better and faster than shots and they desensitize many allergens at once. You can check the website at www.allergyeasy.com

    Comment by E. Campos — April 10, 2008 @ 9:03 pm

27. Have lived in or had extended stays in a few places during my brief life: Austin, Dallas, DC, LA. My primary allergen was mold, or so they said when I was a little kid. I think there’s some pollen and other junk, too…I should be re-tested.

    But I found that for me, DC was the best. Los Angeles has way too much air pollution. Dallas has some of that plus all the mold. I don’t know what the hell’s in Austin but spent almost four years there. Sometimes I’d feel absolutely great there, but when it got bad it got really, really bad.

    I’m not one for going to the doctor, and I hate taking pills or drugs of any kind. Moved back to Dallas about seven months ago and things have generally improved compared to Austin, but all the sudden I’ve started sneezing and stuff which has led me to this website. Never had that problem in Austin. It was mostly sinus headaches there and some stuffiness.

    I’ve gotta say that my allergies were much worse when I was a kid. I started smoking at eighteen, and I know this is a coincidence, but that’s actually when I started feeling better!

    Or it could be that it was about that time that I stopped treating my allergies. Perhaps my body has simply learned to adjust for the most part? I still have my spells, of course, but all those drugs…I’m not sure they’re a good thing.

    But I don’t know anything. I just like to know WHY I’m having the symptoms I’m having. After I find out I don’t do anything about it, haha.

    Comment by Debased — April 27, 2008 @ 10:52 am

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