[davidafan]

Our 14yo daughter is suffering terribly with allergies that both an allergist and an ophthalmologist say are climate related. Basically, her eyes burn and ache all the time because of it, and no medicine that has been prescribed has been able to help at all. The only thing that has ever helped her was traveling out to Nevada and Arizona where she almost instantly felt better because of the climate. However, we live in Michigan and are reluctant to move that far away from our families.

The reason I am posting this here is because I was wondering if anyone knows of anyone who has moved to Florida, specifically the Panhandle area, that had bad climate related allergies up here but got relief down there. If we could move to Florida instead of Arizona, it's more likely that we would see our families a little bit more often, and my widowed father-in-law would come with us, since he has several siblings in the Orlando area. If anyone here can say that they or someone they know has gotten relief from allergies down there, I may drive my daughter down there for a few days to see if she feels better. The things she is allergic to are dust mites and an environmental mold called Phoma that is in the air up here. If anyone can give me any help, suggestions, etc. I would really appreciate it.

[beachmouse]

Unfortunately, Florida is a pretty bad place for allergies. I never knew I had them until I discovered the irritation and annoyance that is pine pollen season.

Different types of mold are also more common down here than up north.

[2bohemians]

Have to agree with BeachMouse --- Florida may not be the place to get relief

[doggiebus]

Florida has year round allergy issues for the most part.

When I asked my allergist where I could move that I wouldn't have allergy issues, she said it would have to move to a place that has year round winter, as nothing grows in places like that. She once told me, when you go on vacation to a place far from home, your allergies will be gone while you are on vacation, which she was right for me. But she said if I moved to those places, with in sometime I would develop some sort of allergy there. And so the best thing to do is learn how to live with your allergies. I remember a woman with children out in Phoenix looking at moving to Florida because her children had bad allergy issues out there. So even if you move most likely your child will have some sort of allergy issue at the new place. But like the others have said, Florida has year round allergy issues. I now know that I get headaches from the heat mostly, but also from things that I eat. So i avoid those things as much as possible. And try to stay indoors as much as possible once it hits the 75F or above here in Florida. I am trying to move to a cooler climate so I can spend much more time outdoors without getting a headache.

[davidafan]

Thank you all for responding. I kind of thought that Florida was bad for allergies, as it is so humid and has so much lush foliage, but I just wanted to ask on the outside chance that someone would tell me something different.

[GloryB]

I grew up in Florida and spent my whole life battling a variety of allergies. Finding a good allergist for her is probably a good idea. They can do scratch tests and find what most irritates her system. The most important thing is to try to keep her from rubbing her eyes. This causes the blood vessels to break and by the time she is in her late twenties, she'll have to battled dark circles. (This shows in my profile pic.) My oldest son is 31 and has the same problem.

[2goldens]

There are abundance of Dogwood trees in the Florida panhandle which gives off so much flowering pollen, it's unreal.

[southernnaturelover]

The panhandle is full of peanut and soybean farms, and those are really bad for some people. Some people are also bothered by the pine pollen, and there's plenty of that too.

[Strel]

Originally Posted by davidafan

Thank you all for responding. I kind of thought that Florida was bad for allergies, as it is so humid and has so much lush foliage, but I just wanted to ask on the outside chance that someone would tell me something different.

The Panhandle is particularly bad in the early spring during Yellow Snow Season.

The pollen literally piles up in the gutters like snow in some places - it's impossible to keep your car clean, they all turn yellow.

[BlueWillowPlate]

I never had allergies until I moved to Florida.
But one bright spot of news: My husband, who had allergies the entire time we lived in Colorado, has had his situation actually *improve* since moving to north Florida.