Adults are getting allergies for the first time. Thanks, climate change.
"We've had patients coming to us saying, 'This hasn't been an issue in the past,'" said Pham. "Now they're getting symptoms, or their allergy symptoms have significantly worsened."
It's not clear how many people are feeling pollen pain for the first time, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported recently that about a quarter of adults in the United States had a seasonal allergy in 2021, the first time the CDC tracked data on seasonal allergies for adults.
A large driver of adult-onset seasonal allergies appears to be climate change.
"The pollen season right now is about three weeks longer than it was 30 years ago, and there's about 20% more pollen in the air," said Dr. Neelu Tummala, an ear, nose and throat specialist and co-director of the Climate Health Institute at George Washington University. Those statistics come from research published in 2021.
As the Earth's core temperature increases, Tummala explained, the ground thaws earlier in the year, rousing trees from their winter slumber, prompting them to flower and produce pollen earlier than ever.
A 'pollen storm'
It's not just that the season is lasting longer. The sheer amount of pollen in the air has exploded.
The combustion of fossil fuels — another cause of global warming —increases carbon dioxide. As CO2 levels go up, plants and trees produce more pollen.
Dr. Stanley Fineman, an allergist at Atlanta Allergy and Asthma and a spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, calls the phenomenon a "pollen storm."
"The pollen counts, particularly this season, have been much, much higher than they’ve been in the past," he said.
Symptoms are starting earlier in the year and are more severe. The increase in symptomatic allergies translates into more money spent on treatments, visits to the doctor and impacts on quality of life.
"It's not just like pollen allergy seasons are annoying," Tummala said. "They also also impact cognitive function. They impact sleep quality."