Beginners Yoga House: Why allergy seasons are getting worse

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Why allergy seasons are getting worse

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How bad allergy seasons affect your health

By Jamie Ducharme

Health Correspondent

This spring, for the first time in my adult life, I had an ear infection. When I complained about it to family and friends (sorry, family and friends), a bunch of them mentioned that an unusual number of people in their lives also recently had ear infections.

I wondered if this painful trend could be related to this year’s bad allergy season, which left many people—myself included—sniffly and congested for weeks. It turns out that it might be. Lingering allergies can increase your risk for multiple complications, from asthma attacks to sinus, ear, and respiratory infections, experts told me.

That’s not great news, since allergy seasons are getting more intense as climate change leads to shorter, milder winters. As pollen counts rise and allergy seasons drag on longer, we may all be in for unpleasant springs ahead—unless, as experts recommended, we start reaching for the allergy meds earlier and earlier.

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