I have a job opportunity in Bucks County near Philadelphia. Until I was 22, I lived in the midwest and suffered horribly from allergies (mostly ragweed, grass and animals). I had asthma attacks every Spring and Fall. After moving to Orange County, California my allergies improved 90%. I would like to move to a more economical area. Am I making a mistake considering moving to Philadelphia? — Nichole, California

I have had similar situations with many of the other people on this website concerning allergies. I grew up in NY and had mild allergies and asthma (mostly exercised induced) when I was younger. I moved back to NY after being gone for almost 8 years. I was diagnosed with sinusitis in the fall of 2004 while I was living in Pennsylvania. After a few months of moving back to NY I began to get sinus infections every two months. Then I was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis.

I have seen numerous ENT doctors who all recommend surgery to remove the polyps from my nose. I would rather not have the surgery. I have been put on all types of allergy medication. After vacationing in a tropical area for an extended period of time, the polyps in my left nose completely disappeared. However, my right nostril is still filled with polyps.

My ENT and Allergist suggested that I leave NY because they believe that my sickness could be tied to my environment and/or they recommend allergy shots. What other areas would be a better place for me to live? Will I just develop new allergies to the new place after a few months? Any suggestions of advice would be appreciated. Thank you. — L.J., New York

Each year the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America names the Top Ten Asthma Capitals for the year. This year, Atlanta Georgia, took the top spot, with Philadelphia, PA, and Raliegh, NC, second and third.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation says:

Don’t Move - Improve: Experts agree that people can’t move away from their asthma since every city in America has a variety of risk factors.

Click Asthma Capitals 2007 to see the whether your state ranked among the Top 10 Capitals (mind did!), as well as information about this annual research project, and links to more detailed information.

You can find information and links to last year’s studies as well as previous years on our February 18, 2006 post, Climate and asthma — Worst places to live.

For someone who is allergic to trees, grasses, mold & ragweed, is there a prefered place to live to minimize symptoms?

Southeastern Pennsylvania has become a nightmare for me. — Jonathan

From California to Ontario, New York, and Florida, ragweed seems to have made it’s debut early and with a bumper crop this August.

Lansing, Michigan:
Worst summer for allergies in decades
“The pollen count is…the highest it’s been in fifty years…. Ragweed everywhere and no relief in sight.” [WLNS, Lansing]

Los Angeles, California
Bumper crop of ragweed kicks off allergy season
“Summer rains followed by hot, dry temperatures in many areas have produced a bumper crop of ragweed.” [NBC4, Los Angeles]

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
Break out of the mold
“A particularly bad year for mold spores and an accelerating ragweed season are giving them itchy eyes and runny noses.” [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

Ontario, Canada
Achoo! Ragweed arrives early
“Ragweed has made her a prisoner in her own house…. ‘It was July 30 when it started and it hasn’t stopped.’” [Hamilton Spectator, Ontario Canada]

Washington, DC
Ragweed arrives early in district
“If you’re an allergy sufferer who is feeling a little off this morning in that allergy-related kind of way, you can thank ragweed season for arriving two weeks early.” [DCist, Washington, DC]

Little Rock, Arkansas
Heat, humidity fueling hay fever
“Doctors say an increase in pollen, ragweed, and mold is creating more cases of hay fever.” [Today’s THV, Little Rock, Arkansas]

Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, Florida
Ragweed season starting up for allergy sufferers
“Ragweed season is upon us…. And this year, people may suffer more than ever.” [WTSB, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida]

New York City, NY
Ways to cope with a brutal allergy season
“Allergy sufferers, the early predictions are in and get ready for an especially brutal fall season.” [WABC-TV, New York]

CentreDaily.com reports reaction from the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania area. Scranton, PA, was recently listed #1 on the Asthma and Allergy Foundation’s “most challenging places to live with asthma” list. (See our February 18 report of the AAFA list.)

According to the CentreDaily article, a Scranton allergy and asthma specialist said, “I wouldn’t move from this area just because you have asthma, but definitely we should be looking for some solutions.”

See the entire article here.

“There’s no such thing as an ‘asthma-free’ city,” says Mike Tringale, Director of Communications at Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. This is from a February 8, 2006, press release announcing the 2006 U.S. Asthma Capitals.

Topping the list are Scranton, PA, Richmond, VA, and Philadelphia, PA. Only one southern city, 4th ranked Atlanta, GA, made the top ten this year. You can check out the entire list of 100 Worst Cities for Asthma in 2006 from the AAFA website.

This is the third year AAFA has ranked cities for asthma. During the first two years, southern cities took the top three spots with the exception of third-ranked St. Louis, MO in 2005. St. Louis has consistently scored in the top ten all three years. In 2004, KY and TN topped the list, and last year (2005) Little Rock, AR (directly east of my western AR location) and St. Louis, MO (directly to my north) took the #2 and #3 spots. This year brought some surprises, as the North Central and North Eastern seaboard areas seem to dominate. See the 2004, 2005, and 2006 lists to see how your area fares.

Feel free to share any local reports or commentary from your area in the comments. Copyrighted material should be in the form of links with your comments about the link. Please do not post copyrighted material, with the exception of a brief sentence to introduce the link.

i`ve moved from pennsylvania to arizona in 1991 and had no allergies i thought,i did get sinus infections every year while here,i moved back to pennsylvania 4yrs ago and wammo full blown allergies so… back to arizona i went after surgery to the nose, i havnt been sick since i`ve been back but i`m dry as can be and allergies are less but the trees ang grass here now are givin me headaches, and because of the dryness its constant oceanspray and the pills just dry me out worse, so i`m goin to the beach for the ocean salt . why not i shove in up my nose everyday here and besides i wont have to buy it anymore from walgreens! diet does help some though! — Chuck, Arizona