Ragweed season starts next week (Aug. 15, officially). It’s drawing more attention this year because the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology says global warming is lengthening the ragweed growing season. So it starts earlier and ends later.
This year’s real double whammy for the allergy misery index is the rain and flooding has produced a bumper crop of mold. Ragweed pollen and mold thrive in the opposite conditions. So when it’s dry and windy, you get ragweed; when it’s damp and rainy, you get mold.
Here’s the other cheerful news, you might want to prepare for a worse ragweed season next year. Dr. Mark Dykewicz, chief of the Section of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, at St. Louis University School of Medicine says that next year’s ragweed crop will be from this years rainy, fertile conditions.
Take heed; that’s a good warning. If you’re considering allergy shots, considered the best remedies for the allergy seasons, you need to start several months before the season hits. so start now for spring tree allergies and in February for ragweed.
Talk to an allergist. You may not need to be as miserable as you are.