Eugene is the worst city in America for allergy suffers to live this week, according to Surveillance Data, Inc., a research company that tracks airborne pollen concentrations across the nation.
Salem and Portland placed second and third, respectively, in the survey, which ranks cities based on the percentage of people likely to be affected by airborne pollen.
This is probably no surprise to those who sneezed and coughed their way through Fourth of July outdoor celebrations.
Still, it’s not common for Eugene to top that list, said Peter Jensen, Surveillance Data’s vice president.
“Other places that would be worse aren’t as bad,” he said.Allergy season — or more accurately, allergy seasons — comes in three waves. In the spring, tree pollen constitutes the major allergen, in the early summer months grass pollen is most prominent and from late summer to early fall weed and mold pollen take over.
Now, grass season is giving way to weed season throughout most of the country. But in the Willamette Valley — home to Linn County, called “the grass seed capital of the world” — the end of grass season still means wheezing for allergy sufferers.
“It’s bad, but we’re in grass season now, while other things are dipping down,” Jensen said.
Though area allergists say this year’s grass season was no more severe than most, the University Health Center was so flooded with allergy sufferers in early June that it ran out of Opcon-A, an over-the-counter eye drop.
Demand “was strong through the end of the term,” Health Center pharmacist Julie Boffing said.
Judy Moran, a registered nurse at Allergy and Asthma Associates, said her clinic, like most in the area, has seen more business in recent weeks.
However, she expects wheezing to decline as grass season gives way to the more moderate weed season.
“We usually tell people who come in here with symptoms that the worst time for pollen is between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July,” she said. “Usually people are feeling better by the first week of July.”
Still, she recommended treatment for people suffering from runny noses, itchy eyes, grogginess and that itch in the back of the throat that just can’t be scratched.
“People really do not have to tolerate horrible symptoms,” she said. “There really are some advanced choices for treating people and making them more comfortable.”
Between 50 and 60 million Americans suffer from allergies at an annual medical cost of $4.5 billion, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Mainstream treatments include advice on avoiding exposure to pollen, medications and immunotherapy. Alternative treatments include nutritional supplements and homeopathic preparations.
Eugene tops list of worst places for allergy sufferers
Daily Emerald
July 4, 2001
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