Story at a glance
- March 20 marks the official start of spring, when flowers start to blossom and pollen starts to wreak havoc on people’s allergies.
- A new report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America ranked the country’s 100 largest cities from least to most challenging for allergy sufferers.
- Wichita, Kan., was ranked as the worst city for allergies.
It’s almost that time of year when budding flowers begin to blossom, unleashing clouds of allergy-triggering pollen and sending many Americans into a sneezy, watery-eyed frenzy.
And while allergies can be treated anywhere in the U.S., there are some cities that are worse for the allergy-prone than others.
In a recently released report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Wichita, Kan., was ranked the most challenging place to live in the United States for pollen allergy sufferers.
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The foundation determined which cities are worst for allergies based on the pollen level of local plant life, the use of over-the-counter sinus and allergy medications and the availability of allergy specialists.
Wichita scored low on all counts. The city is home to several trees, grasses and weeds that are known to have allergy-inducing pollen like alder trees, Bahia grass and burning bush.
It also sees lower-than-average use of over-the-counter sinus and allergy medication and offers lower-than-average access to allergy specialists, according to the report.
More than 100 million people in the U.S. suffer from allergies, according to the AAFA. Here are the 10 cities that are the most challenging for those Americans:
- Wichita, Kan.
- Dallas, Texas
- Scranton, Pa.
- Oklahoma City, Okla.
- Tulsa, Okla.
- Sarasota, Fla.
- Cape Coral, Fla.
- Orlando, Fla.
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Greenville, S.C.
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