Allergy and asthma sufferers will be even more miserable as global warming continues to worsen. Experts say global warming makes pollen seasons last longer, creating more ozone in the air and expanding the areas where insects flourish.
From Health Day via Yahoo News:
“Climate change will cause impacts in every area. Wet areas will get wetter, and drier climates are getting drier,” said Dr. Jeffrey Demain, director of the Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Center of Alaska, and a clinical associate professor at the University of Washington.
Those changes will mean more people with allergies and asthma will suffer. In wet areas, mold allergies will spike, while in drier areas pollens and other airborne irritants will become more of a problem, he said.
In addition to longer pollen seasons, the plant and tree life is changing along with the warmer temperatures. Demain said it’s estimated that 90 percent of the Alaskan tundra will be forested by 2100, and that the types of trees that are most common are changing, too.
The warmer temperatures are also attracting insects. In the past, Alaska hasn’t had too many stinging insects. But, said Demain, northern Alaska has recently seen a 620 percent increase in the number of people seeking care for bee stings.
That’s definitely not good news for people who spend much of their lives wheezing, sneezing, and rubbing their itchy eyes. Experts offer the standard ‘go to your doctor’ recommendation for those seeking relief; homeopathic allergy medicine like BioAllers can also be helpful.
Link [Yahoo News]
Photo credit: Flickr user Brooke Novak
