Updated:
June 12, 2019
Texas Is One of the Worst Places for Allergies and Here’s Why
In 2011, I moved to Texas from North Georgia, where I enjoyed all sorts of outdoor activities including, hiking, biking, and camping, but never had any issues with allergies.
How allergies started affecting me
That soon changed after I moved to Texas. During the first year I was fine and still maintained my hobbies outdoors; however, by the second year, I began to experience seasonal sinus headaches, sinus drainage and congestion. This was all new to me and I didn’t quite notice a pattern until my third year. But then I realized that I was not “immune” to the great state of Texas.
After starting with Apire Allergy & Sinus, I was surprised to find out that I was allergic to 53 out of the 58 allergens that we test for. I was amazed at how many things in Texas were affecting my immune system.Therefore, whenever I speak with patients who have moved to Texas from other areas and are having the same problems, I can truly empathize with their frustrations. Allergies unfortunately can affect you immediately or it can take a few years before they trigger an immune response. It’s so valuable to understand what you’re allergic to so that you can stop your allergies from interfering with your quality of life.What many people don’t understand is that allergies can develop whenever you move to a new location. Compared to most of the country, Texas is a notorious hot spot for allergies, so we suffer more here than in many other locations. San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, and Waco rank worse than the majority of the country when it comes to allergies. But the question still remains, why is it that Texas is so bad when it comes to allergies? The main reason is due to the temperate climate. Plants in Texas only endure occasional periods of freeze, if any. This allows plants to pollinate all times of the year – even winter.
The winter is what really sets Texas apart from other areas in terms of bad allergies. Most states endure cold snaps, snow, and regularly freezing temperatures that halts pollen from being spread in the air. In Texas however, the warm environment welcomes the Juniper tree (which we associate with our cedar allergies) to release its pollen in the air. This leads to Texas’ arguably worst allergy season to happen when a large chunk of the country isn’t experiencing allergies at all.Instead of running away, you can still live here in beautiful Texas allergy free. There are plenty of ways to lessen the amount your allergies developed and allergy drops allow your body to build a resistance to these allergies so they no longer bother you.