[reeredfdfdf]

Probably we can blame higher hygiene standards, or some other environmental factor for it. Forests haven't changed much in past decades.

Here in Finland I've never been affected by any kind of tree pollen at all, but somehow timothy grass pollen gives me horrible symptoms, forcing me to take antihistamine most of the summer. I lived my childhood near farmland and forests, so definitely got exposed to both forms of pollen at early age.

[INTPenis]

Yes timotej is my allergy as well.

And I got it as an adult, in 2009. So 26 years without any allergies, then suddenly, one summer in Helsingborg, the air was thick with pollen. I remember the smell was like cheese doodles in the air, musty.

Once I got back from an errand in the city my face was leaking, I walked to the pharmacy with blurry vision to get my first antihistamines. Ever since then every year june is a nightmare. It affects your sleep, so it affects every part of life.

And since then I've observed more and more pollen allergies around me, friends, co-workers, strangers on the bus. It's very prevalent.

I would not be surprised if humans caused this somehow with our modern city planning.

[the_af]

Once you get sensitized, it gets worse every year, right?

Since my teenage years I was mildly allergic to pollen, and now in my adulthood it seems to be getting progressively worse. Each spring is worse than the previous one, and the antihistamines do less effect (or so I subjectively feel).

[INTPenis]

Yes I think the occasional attacks of pollen get worse, but in the long term I'm more used to it and I've learned habits to alleviate.

For example taking the right kind of antihistamines, taking them in the evening before bed, and most important regular cleaning.

[Yeroc]

That is the general pattern but not always. I never used to have allergies and then developed them a few years ago. Was very miserable for a couple months every year for about 5 years but they disappeared again a couple years ago. I tried a few things like taking a spoonful of local honey every day etc. Ultimately I don't know what made the difference sadly but I haven't been bothered by seasonal allergies for several years now.

[ac29]

I've had seasonal allergies for decades and haven't seen them trend more intense, though some years have more allergens than others.

Personally I only take allergy medication maybe 50-100 days a year, and usually just a half dose. I have definitely heard from people with worse symptoms that they get a tolerance to medications so it may help to switch between them if you take them year round.

[rsynnott]

Not _necessarily_. I had big problems with pollen when I was a kid, but very rarely, these days (there seems to be _something_ that causes me difficulty for a few weeks a year, but that's more or less it now).

[criddell]

> modern city planning

One theory has to do with sanitation and how well we've done at eliminating parasites. Some people have reported successfully curing allergies by giving themselves a hookworm infection.

> The fact that some local African languages contain no words to describe allergic symptoms could support this hypothesis, indicating that allergic diseases have never been a problem among these populations

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6585781/

[sitkack]

If only the US department of health had a bold vision on how to solve this.

[skirge]

food is full of histamine, especially fish and fermented food which is considered healthy but some (MCAS, HIT) people are sensitive.

[mattmcknight]

Perhaps we can blame exposure to actual pathogens which resemble the pollen in some way, triggering a misdirected immune system response.

[croes]

Trees react to climate change.

After droughts some release more pollen as a survival reaction