I have lived in Seattle, WA for seven years and had no allergies. I Moved to Northern Virginia four years age and my allergy symptoms have gone up each year.  I am on medication 24/7.  I have always wanted to move to California because of the great weather.  Will my allegies get better in California?  If yes, please suggest an area. — Anuradha, Virginia

I have had asthma/allergies since an infant. I have lived in Oak Harbor & Tacoma Washington; Tucson Az; Va Beach, Va; and now SD, Ca. Living where there is an offshore breeze always helps to keep the air clean & easier to breathe. We now have no carpeting, and a air cleaner in each rm; perhaps this makes a big difference as well. — MT, San Diego

“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.

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