Allergies Health Center

Tools & Resources

This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive

Font Size

Regional Allergies

WebMD the Magazine - Feature

Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD

Q: Atlanta is beautiful in the spring, but my allergies are so bad! Will moving to the desert make them go away?

A: Ragweed and grass pollens are triggers that are difficult to avoid almost everywhere in the continental United States during the spring and summer.

Recommended Related to Allergies

Blocking Allergy Symptoms: How Pretreatment Works

For lots of people, allergy treatment is reactive. You get stuffed up, your eyes water, and then you go to the medicine cabinet for relief. But many doctors say that we’ve got it the wrong way around. Instead, we should be taking the medicine before we have symptoms. Call it allergy pretreatment. “We always tell people to start taking medicine before the allergy season begins,” says Jonathan A. Bernstein MD, an allergist and professor of clinical medicine at the University of Cincinnati. “People...

Read the Blocking Allergy Symptoms: How Pretreatment Works article > >

Although much of Arizona and New Mexico is arid, most people in the cities, suburbs, and small towns grow grass for lawns. Plus, the land has been disturbed by construction and landscaping, so weeds are widespread. Las Vegas, Tucson, and Phoenix have very high rates of allergies and asthma. Indoor allergens, such as mites, molds, and cockroaches, are also common in desert homes, especially when swamp coolers are used instead of air conditioning.

People get allergies because they’ve become sensitized to a different set of allergens, and the allergens to which you will be exposed vary considerably from one location to another. If you are considering a move to another community, talk with the locals about their allergies, or leave a question on the WebMD Asthma and Allergies message board asking about the new location.

Try to take a vacation to the area. Remember, some people with allergies do better in a new community for a year or two but then become sensitized to the allergens in their new home.

Paul Enright, MD, WebMD Allergy and Asthma Expert

Reviewed on March 01, 2007