Climate changes and rising carbon dioxide levels don't just affect the environment. Experts say they also affect your nose. Warmer temperatures and higher carbon dioxide levels mean certain plants will thrive, and those are the plants that tend to make us sneeze during allergy season.
Allergies may seem like a minor nuisance, but according to the CDC there are an estimated 50 million Americans living with allergies, and $18 billion is spent every year dealing with the affliction.
From hay fever to sneezing to itchy, watery eyes, all of these symptoms could become heightened as plants begin to produce more virulent pollen. Allergies can also exacerbate asthma and slow down productivity, in addition to that overall miserable feeling.
Last week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that carbon dioxide levels had reached a grim benchmark of 400 parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere compared with about 280 ppm before the start of the industrial age.
Additionally, 2012 was the warmest year on record for the U.S., a full 3.2 degrees warmer than the average 20th century temperature, according to NOAA.
Dr. Jeffrey Demain , an allergist and director of the Allergy Asthma & Immunology Center of Alaska, said the new carbon levels concerned him as he's seen his patients have more severe reactions from allergies. "I think over the last 20 years, in my opinion we're seeing more patients with allergies," said Demain. "And the allergies seem to be very significant."
In the past 53 years, carbon dioxide levels have risen globally approximately 22 percent. Much has been written about how the rise in greenhouse gases is bad for the environment, but less has been said about how these gases can help some plants flourish. Unfortunately for humans these plants, like poison ivy and ragweed, tend to be irritating or even harmful to our health
A 2005 study found that when ragweed plants, a prime cause of hay fever symptoms in late summer and fall, were exposed to higher carbon dioxide levels they not only produced more pollen, but the grains of pollen were covered with increased numbers of nose-irritating proteins, supercharging the pollen's allergic properties.
The study subjected ragweed plants in a lab setting to different carbon dioxide levels from three eras -- the preindustrial age, the present day and even the end of the 21st century. The study found that the allergen concentrations increased 20 percent from the preindustrial age to today. But they were projected to rise a startling 60 percent by the end of the century.
So the plants might be flourishing in 90 years, but anyone with a ragweed allergy will be miserable.
"They're growing faster, they're producing more flowers," said Dr. Lewis Ziska, a research plant physiologist at the United States Department of Agriculture and one of the study's authors. "It's a two-edged sword … the [plants] that are responding have implications for public health.
Traditionally, allergists break up the year into three distinct seasons. In spring it's the trees that cause the most problems; summer brings flowering grasses that induce sneezing; and in fall ragweed pollen afflicts allergy sufferers with itchy, watery eyes.
But as temperatures more common for July start showing up in April and May in certain areas of the country, plants react to the weather and not the calendar date. Increased overlap between allergy seasons means more pollen in the air and little relief for people hoping for a break between seasons. "If you have high levels of pollen in the air then [people with pollen allergies] might have a lot of symptoms," said Demain. "They're a mess."
However, even when there are multiple allergy seasons happening at once, allergists say there are things people can do to stave off the worst symptoms. To keep pollen out of the home, experts recommend washing your face and changing your clothes after you arrive home and using a neti pot daily to help flush out irritating pollen grains.
A Milder Winter Might Mean a Miserable SpringWhen the weather is warmer and seasons are milder, some plants will be releasing allergy-inducing pollen for longer periods of time.
A 2011 study looked at the length of the ragweed seasons in cities along different latitudes from Georgetown, Texas, to Saskatoon, Canada, over a 14-year period. During that time, nearly all the cities experienced fewer days with frost and longer ragweed seasons.
Cities further north also had statistically larger increases to their ragweed allergy seasons. The population of Saskatoon had to contend with a ragweed season 27 days longer in 2009 than in 1995.
Marooned on an 'Urban Heat Island' Means More SneezingAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 80 percent of Americans currently reside in urban areas. While cities that lack greenery may seem like a safe place for people with pollen allergies, experts say they won't offer much sanctuary during allergy season.
That is partly because cities often become what scientists call "urban heat islands," where concrete and pavement soak up heat, resulting in consistently higher temperatures compared with surrounding rural areas. With warmer temperatures and higher levels of carbon dioxide, some allergen-inducing plants can produce more pollen than the same plants located in rural areas.
A 2003 study on allergen levels in Baltimore found more than three times the amount of ragweed pollen in the city compared with the surrounding rural areas.
Also, densely packed urban areas have higher levels of diesel and car exhaust, which can irritate the nose and throat, making allergy symptoms worse.
You are using an outdated version of Internet Explorer. Please click here to upgrade your browser in order to comment.blog comments powered by Disqus abcnws_fw_params = {siteSectionId: 'nws_health', siteSectionIdType: 0, siteSectionNetworkId: 168234, siteSectionFallbackId: 109523, customVisitor:'', keyValues:'subsection=allergies&pageType=story'}; pc.fwSeg();pc.fwAppendKeyValues('show=');pc.getSWID();pc.subsectionOverride();function fw_config(){return abcnws_fw_params;}if (tq.videoOverrideContext != null) {jsvideoViewEventProp16Value = tq.videoOverrideContext;} else {jsvideoViewEventProp16Value = "videoadtree|BodyMind/DiseasesConditions/Allergies/";}if (jsvideoViewEventProp16Value == "none") { jsvideoViewEventProp16Value = ""; }jsvideoViewEventEvar20Value = jsvideoViewEventProp16Value;currentURL = window.location.href;closedCaptionActiveValue = true;hdPluginActive = (currentURL.search('hdplugin=true') != -1)?true:false;kdp_embed_default = {doKdpEmbed : function() {// Should only be changed if you are running Kaltura On Prem / Kaltura CE:var service_url = "http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/";// logic cascade for deciding which entry to loadvar entry_id = this.getEntryIdFromUrl() || this.getEntryIdFromDataAttr() || this.fallback_entry; var embedSrc = "http%3A%2F%2Fcdnapi.kaltura.com%2Findex.php%2Fextwidget%2FembedIframe%2Fentry_id%2F" + entry_id + "%2Fwidget_id%2F_" + kdp_embed_default.partner_id + "%2Fuiconf_id%2F" + kdp_embed_default.uiconf_id;flashembed(this.placeholder_id,{// attributes and params:id :"kaltura_player_default",src : service_url + "/index.php/kwidget/wid/_" + kdp_embed_default.partner_id + "/uiconf_id/" + kdp_embed_default.uiconf_id + "/entry_id/" + entry_id,height :221,width :392,bgcolor :"#eeeeee",allowNetworking : "all",version :[10,0],expressInstall :"http://cdn.kaltura.org/apis/seo/expressinstall.swf",wmode: "transparent"},{// flashvars (double-quote the values)externalInterfaceDisabled : "false",jsInterfaceReadyFunc :"jsInterfaceReady",contentType: "video","addThis.playerSize": "392x221",//"restrictUserAgent.restrictedUserAgents": "GoogleTV",referer : "http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/spring-allergies-early-15920743","omniture.videoViewEventEvar15Value" : "player|storypage","omniture.videoViewEventProp18Value" : "player|storypage","omniture.videoViewEventProp16Value" : jsvideoViewEventProp16Value,"omniture.videoViewEventEvar20Value" : jsvideoViewEventEvar20Value,"omniture.adStartEvar15Value" : "player|storypage","omniture.adStartEvar20Value" : jsvideoViewEventEvar20Value,"closedCaptionActive" : closedCaptionActiveValue,"closedCaptionsOverPlayer.fontsize":"12",noThumbnail: true,"abcnews.displayEndCard":false,"addThis.embedCodeLinks" : "%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2Fus%2F%3Fcid%3D11_extvid1%22%3EUS%20News%3C%2Fa%3E%7C%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2Fweird%3Fcid%3D11_extvid2%22%3EWeird%20News%3C%2Fa%3E%7C%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2Fvideo%2F%3Fcid%3D11_extvid3%22%3EMore%20ABC%20News%20Videos%3C%2Fa%3E","addThis.embedFlashVars" : "referer=http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/spring-allergies-early-15920743%26flashvars[autoPlay]=false%26addThis.playerSize=392x221%26freeWheel.siteSectionId=nws_offsite%26closedCaptionActive=false", "addThis.iframeTemplate" : "%3Ciframe%20id%3D%22%24playerId%24%22%20height%3D%22360%22%20width%3D%22640%22%20style%3D%22%24cssStyle%24%22%20src%3D%22"+embedSrc+"%22%3E%24noIFrameMessage%24%3C%2Fiframe%3E%20%3Cdiv%20style%3D%22text-align%3Aleft%3Bfont-size%3Ax-small%3Bmargin-top%3A0%3B%22%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2Fus%2F%3Fcid%3D11_extvid1%22%3EUS%20News%3C%2Fa%3E%7C%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2Fweird%3Fcid%3D11_extvid2%22%3EWeird%20News%3C%2Fa%3E%7C%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2Fvideo%2F%3Fcid%3D11_extvid3%22%3EMore%20ABC%20News%20Videos%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E","shareBtnControllerScreen.enabled" : "true",//"video.stretchThumbnail":true,//"volumeBar.initialValue":0.75,//"volumeBar.forceInitialValue":true,debugMode: true})},onFail : function() {alert("FLASH EMBEDDING FAILED");},getEntryIdFromUrl : function() {if(location.hash.indexOf(kdp_embed_default.url_param_name) != -1) {// get the entry id from the url document fragment (aka hash):return location.hash.split("#")[1].substring((kdp_embed_default.url_param_name.length+1));}else if(location.search.indexOf(kdp_embed_default.url_param_name) != -1) {// get the entry id from the url parameters (aka querystring):return location.search.split("?")[1].substring((kdp_embed_default.url_param_name.length+1));}else {// use the default video defined in "fallback_entry" below://return kdp_embed_default.fallback_entry;return false;}},getEntryIdFromDataAttr : function() {var data_attr_val = document.getElementById(this.placeholder_id).getAttribute("data-entryid");if(data_attr_val && !(data_attr_val
In den nachsten paar Artikeln werde ich weiterhin uber andere gesundheitliche Vorteile von Oolong-Tee, einer der beruhmtesten Tee in China gehen. Es ist wirklich diesen Tag immer beliebt. Ich hoffe, Sie konnen bei mir bleiben und diese naturliche Gabe zu erkunden. Fur weitere Informationen besuchen Sie bitte meine Website: OolongTeaCommuntiy.Com

Hot Topics: Powerball Winner?$590 Million Jackpot?Youngest Manson Follower
Obese Woman Tattoos Weight Goal on...
H&M CEO: Our Models Are Too...More Health Headlines'Low-T' Testosterone Ads Leading to...Michael Douglas' Throat Cancer Tied to...The 'Prancercise' Craze and Other...Eye Lift Payments Raising EyebrowsSaudi Teen Contracts Deadly Virus Home> HealthWine, Beer and Spirits Could Get Nutrition LabelsBy SYDNEY LUPKIN (@slupkin) June 5, 2013
ABCNEWS.com
House Talks on Immigration Reform Near Collapse
State Senator's Wife to Sex Solicitors: 'No More!'
Kid's Hairdo Reveals Mom's Hang-ups
13 Hurt in Philly Building Collapse
First Lady Heckled, Threatens to Leave
Heckler: Michelle Obama Was in My Face
Paris Jackson 'Safe and Doing Fine,' Say Family Members
Record Powerball Winner Is Woman, 84
Transgender Navy SEAL 'Warrior Princess' Comes Out
ESPN: A-Rod, Others May Face Suspensions
Labrador Abandons House 'Gang of 8' Immigration Talks 4 minutes ago
Midwest Braces for Flooding Along Miss. 31 minutes ago
Lenovo Paves the Way for Made-in-America Computers 1 hour, 7 minutes ago
102-Year-Old Woman Tandem BASE-Jumps for Birthday 1 hour, 18 minutes ago Teen Misses Roof-to-Pool Jump 1 hour, 24 minutes ago Federal Judge Rules for Dying Girl Needing Lung Transplant 1 hour, 50 minutes ago
Instant Index: John Travolta, Wedding Crasher 1 hour, 51 minutes ago
Immigration Overhaul Hits Bump as Conservatives Brainstorm... 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
Michelle Williams, Daughter Spend Time With Artist Dustin... 2 hours, 24 minutes ago
IRS Suspends Two After Probe 2 hours, 32 minutes ago You Might Also Like... Photo Galleries
View: Building Collapses in Philadelphia US
View: Remembering Tiananmen Square International
View: 'Man of Steel': Behind the Scenes Entertainment
View: Top Images from Around the Globe International
View: Stefani Hits 'Bling Ring' Premiere Entertainment ABC News Full Episodes
GMA | 06.05.2013 GMA 6/05: Alex Rodriguez Suspension... Watch More Full Episodes Connect with GMA
External links are provided for reference purposes. ABC News is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. Copyright c 2013 ABC News Internet Ventures. Yahoo! - ABC News NetworkBack to top