The designation is based on:
- Tree pollen counts (oak, maple, elm and birch trees especially vex those with allergies, AAFA said);
- The amount of allergy medication used locally, based on data from IMS Health;
- Access to board-certified allergists, based on the ratio of such professionals to the overall population.
Dayton ranked high in pollen counts, low in access to specialists, and average in allergy medication use, an AAFA spokeswoman said. The city ranked eighth in 2009 and 64th in 2008.
AAFA gets money from government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but 82 percent of its funding comes from other foundations and corporations, including pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca and Genentech.
Dr. Dawn Zacharias of the Allergy and Asthma Center of Dayton said her business increased 56 percent last week. Last year’s relatively mild spring spurred a much smaller increase in patients.
“People are seeing worse symptoms than usual quicker,” because of the rapid warm-up recently, she said. It’s too soon to say for sure, but she said the season could be one of the worst in her six years locally.
Brian Huxtable, an air pollution control specialist with the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency in Dayton, said the highest pollen readings so far this season came on Wednesday, April 7 (RAPCA’s readings are logged only for Sundays through Thursdays). While very high pollen counts were recorded last week, that’s often the case this time of year, he said.
Dr. Susan H. Barde of Kettering-based Dayton Arthritis & Allergy Center said she’s found the allergy season to be average so far — or, as she put it, “typically bad.”
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