Stop rubbing your itchy eyes for a minute and look at this: Austin was named the "fall allergy capital" of America.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America puts out a list each year of the 100 most uncomfortable places for an allergy sufferer to live. Austin always makes this list (it ranked 12th last year), but this is the first year it has topped the list.
The nonprofit foundation's rankings, which were released this week, are based on key environmental and medical factors, including fall pollen levels, patient medication usage and the number of allergists per patient in the area.
The foundation said Austin is "the most challenging place to live with fall allergies" this year. "Challenging" is an understatement for those allergic to mold, ragweed, elm or other common allergens.
"I'm not really surprised," said Dr. Paul Vigo, an allergist with Allergy and Asthma Consultants in Austin. "We have a joke that goes, 'We have only one allergy season in Austin: from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.' "
Vigo said that molds have been high lately — any count above 300 is considered high — maybe because of all the rain Austin got during the summer but that it could be worse, because mold counts have climbed as high as 12,000 in Austin before.
Top five cities
1. Austin
2. San Antonio
3. Oklahoma City
4. Lakeland, Fla.
5. Orlando, Fla.
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