From Hartford, CT, to Spokane, WA, and everywhere in between, allergies have a tight grip on Americans this spring. Hartford leads the new list of 2006 Spring Allergy Capitals – the most challenging places to live this year for people with spring allergies.

This spring, more than 50 million Americans will be concerned with allergies. Experts believe this allergy season will be especially difficult for sufferers because of the mild winter experienced by much of the country. 

Hartford, CT, ranks as the No. 1 Spring Allergy Capital for 2006. Hartford has some of the highest spring pollen levels, patient medication usage and a lower-than-average number of board certified allergists per patient, leading to its number one ranking in 2006. 

“The ranking shows that there really is no place safe from allergies this season and you need to manage your allergies no matter where you live,” says Matthew Clarke, MD, a board-certified family physician. “Even if you think you know the cause of your allergy symptoms, a visit to the doctor is the best way to receive a proper diagnosis and appropriate treatments.”

"Anyone who lives in an Allergy Capital should take the necessary steps to minimize the impact of allergies on their life -- indoors and outdoors," says Mike Tringale, Director of Communications for AAFA. "The Allergy Capital ranking is a great tool to help increase awareness about what allergy sufferers can do to avoid allergy triggers and actually enjoy the spring season."

The Allergy Capitals ranking is an annual research project of AAFA to compare 100 cities based on key environmental and medical factors in each metro area. To determine the rankings, researchers looked at recorded pollen counts and related allergy prevalence for certain pollen types (the "pollen score*"), medication usage per patient, and the number of Board Certified allergists per patient in each metro area. Then, results for each metro area were compared and ranked. 

Top 10 Spring Allergy Capitals 

For more information, contact Angel Waldron  at 1-800-7-ASTHMA, x248.
Get the official press release here.

The 2006 AAFA Spring Allergy Capitals program is supported by Procter & Gamble, makers of Febreze Allergen Reducer® and Swiffer® Dusters, Schering-Plough, makers of Nasonex®  (mometasone furoate monohydrate) Nasal Spray, 50 mcg*, and Pollen.com, a division of Surveillance Data, Inc.

* "Pollen score" is comprised of comprehensive recorded levels of airborne grass/tree/weed pollen and mold spores, and prevalence data for each of these specific types of allergens.