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I definitely don't have the mold allergy symptoms here that I used to have in Philadelphia. On the other hand, I am allergic to plenty of other things, and have still had problems, just not of the same intensity as what I experienced before I moved here. But still bad enough to interfere with living my life. (I was unemployed until recently, and I haven't yet found a doctor or an allergy specialist, so maybe things will improve once I am getting treatments again.) Anyway, pollen levels can be high here.
If you have general sinus problems, remember that extreme dryness (under 30% relative humidity) itself can cause trouble for you. (It can cause trouble for even healthy sinuses.) Other, less dry places you might want to consider for lower mold/pollen levels would include Colorado Springs; Pueblo, CO; Spokane, WA; Boise, ID (and suburbs or smaller cities nearby); and maybe Flagstaff, AZ or Boulder, CO, if you have lots of money.
This is useful humidity information, but you might want to copy it into a Word file and make it larger, to make it legible:
I am emphasizing the dryness factor, because I think I overestimated how significant it would be, when I decided to move to New Mexico. Ideally, I think I should have gone somewhere as dry as necessary to eliminate most outdoor mold issues, while shooting for an average PM relative humiditiy above 30%.
I am emphasizing the dryness factor, because I think I overestimated how significant it would be, when I decided to move to New Mexico. Ideally, I think I should have gone somewhere as dry as necessary to eliminate most outdoor mold issues, while shooting for an average PM relative humiditiy above 30%.
I'm not quite sure I understand your last comment. Are you saying Albuquerque is TOO dry for your allergies? Or not dry enough?
Also, have you found the altitude to have any impact?
I'm saying that Albuquerque is dry enough that I think it's made my mold allergy a non-issue (i.e., I'm not having those mold allergy symptoms any more, so there must be hardly any mold around); but it's too dry for my sinuses. So I'm saying, as far as overall sinus health goes, it might be better to move somewhere a little less dry than Albuquerque, even if you have a mold allergy, as long as its some place that's dry enough to eliminate mold problems. But of course, the less dry the alternative, the more you are risking that there will be some mold, and it's really hard to get detailed information (especially retrospective information, rather than just info. on the current day or month) on airborne mold levels for most cities.
I get the 30% cutoff figure from The Sinusitis Help Book (p.293): "A fall in relative humidity below the 30 percent level may cause a decrease in cilia activity and the rate of mucous flow in the nose, enhancing the chances of a nasal or sinus infection."
The altitude hasn't caused any problems for me, though it could be an issue for people with asthma.
The dryness is great for asthmatics like me. I hardly have any issues now but I have an ongoing sinus infection which gives me terrible headaches and makes me congested every morning.
My allergies seem to be about the same as they were in southern New Jersey though.
After living here for so many years (since 1975) my old allergies are gone but I've developed new ones so expect it to be not much different after several years - if you have allergies, the odds are you'll develop newer ones here.
Depends on what you're allergic to. If it's mold, you'll love it here. Grass, so-so - you'll have a bad spring but probably be OK the rest of the year. Trees and weeds - move somewhere else.
Tree and weed pollen is unbelievable here. My allergies were pretty much a non-issue in other cities. Eye drops in the spring when oak pollen was heavy, that was about it. Here, tree pollen - especially cedar/juniper - is present 9-10 months of the year. If you're allergic to tree pollen, good chance you'll have problems most of the year here.
BTW, the city only gives pollen counts from March-September. Have no idea why they shut down during weed season.
The dryness is great for asthmatics like me. I hardly have any issues now but I have an ongoing sinus infection which gives me terrible headaches and makes me congested every morning.
My allergies seem to be about the same as they were in southern New Jersey though.
Whenever I stay in hotels, I always find the air too dry and wake up with terrible headaches.. I guess.. this is the same thing. huh. except it's waking up everyday to a place where you live...
What measures can one take to circumvent the headaches... will room humidifiers help at all? Once I live in ABQ fulltime, I'm really afraid of the same terrible headaches... back in Feb, I had terrible headaches when I was in ABQ for a month...
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Allergies in Albuquerque
