The 2006 Spring Allergy Capitals

Filed in archive Allergy: Research and Development , Hay Fever , Living with Allergies on April 19, 2006

Seems like there is no escape. If you were entertaining the notions of leaving your city and spending spring elsewhere to escape the high pollen levels in your locality, well, better think har where to go.

The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America released this year's Top 100 Allergy Capitals ranking, based on the following criteria:

• recorded pollen counts


• related allergy prevalence for certain pollen types (the "pollen score*")


• medication usage per patient


• number of Board Certified allergists per patient

According to the results, here are Top 10 Spring Allergy Capitals

Hartford, CT
Greenville, SC
Boston, MA
Detroit, MI
Orlando, FL
Knoxville, TN
Omaha, NE
Sacramento, CA
Washington, DC
Baltimore, MD

"The ranking shows that there really is no place safe from allergies this season and you need to manage your allergies no matter where you live," says Matthew Clarke, MD, a board-certified family physician. "Even if you think you know the cause of your allergy symptoms, a visit to the doctor is the best way to receive a proper diagnosis and appropriate treatments."

A pdf file of full rankings for 100 cities and the research methodology is available for download.