Possibly moving to Tucson because of allergies. Advice? (live, area)

[szupergipsy]

I moved here from Albuquerque. My allergies became terrible, I also started suffering from extreme eye dryness. At the end of the day my eyes look like Marty Feldman's...http://scienceblogs.com/bushwells/upload/2006/11/marty_feldman.jpg (broken link)

[szupergipsy]

...it feels like they want to leave my head in search of H2O....

[ZonyPony]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

My allergies are worse here than they were in the Northwest U.S. While the dry air makes dampness not an issue here, many other allergens are worse. The very fine dust that blows here almost all year aggravates sinus issues. I sneeze all day, every day. The desert vegetation gives off as much pollen as any growing things you will find in Tennesee. I am especially allergic to the palo verde trees and Texas ranger bushes. And whatever you do, don't get bit by a desert spider!

Gesundheit!

[MaWis]

Originally Posted by sickofIL

I will add that when we visited Tucson my sinuses became clear. I'm allergic to mold. It has been very bad here in IL. We probably weren't in Tucson for 1 hour and my sinuses cleared. I didn'y need to take my usual medication either. This is one of the reasons we will be moving there.

When I moved to Tucson 15 years ago, I mentioned to my doctor that my allergies would clear up.He said (an it was true) that it was worse, because of all of the people who insisted on planting non-native plants and grass.

[DoggyLOVEme]

I always sneeze in recent days, I think I got pollen allergy... but I never like that before coming to Tucson, and actually I move here in June last year... What's more, it's soooooooo arid here, to be honest, I won't recommend you to come here, cuz it is not a good place to live.

[AZgarden]

Anyone of you ever try Flonase spray? It helps alot. Ask your doctor.

[MrsBreeder]

The worst allergies of my life happened in Tucson. I was sick every month for 1 year straight before I figured this out. Strep (multiple times), bronchitis, sinus infections...you name it. They kept coming and coming starting 2 months after we moved here. Finally figured this out and went on allergy shots and meds.

Husband and I both had to go on allergy shots for 3 years after living here. Both of our kids now have allergies (which I swear are going on forever this year). I've actually been told by doctors that Tucson has a lot of allergy sufferers because people are constantly bringing in non-native plants.

I'd definitely try the area for an extended period (if possible) before relocating.

[ZonaZoo]

Tucson, like Phoenix and Las Vegas, used to be an ideal place for those suffering from severe allergies. However, with all of the non-native plants now planted in this region, that's no longer the case.

[starrynightz]

When we moved to Tucson, the mister developed horrible allergies after about a year. So, we moved to TN, his allergies cleared up, but I am allergic to something here. Now we are moving back to the midwest. Neither one of us is happy about this, but at least we aren't allergic to anything there.

[Jukesgrrl]

Let's stop blaming Easterners for bringing non-native plants here. While the planting of non-native species might exacerbate allergies in Arizona, the things I am most severely allergic to here I never encountered living in the East. For me, palo verde trees are the worst. Also, it's unlikely ragweed was ever purposefully cultivated here and regular ragweed, western ragweed, mugwort, and some species of goldenrod and timothy grass are all rampant in Southern Arizona. The natural desert is full of grasses and weeds that could trigger allergy symptoms in anyone who ever experienced hay fever — for most sufferers, causing worse symptoms than those caused by fragrant flowers and manicured lawns. I live in a area where desert landscaping is required so we don't have that many non-native species around where I live and some of my allergy symptoms are worse here than any place I ever lived, including the South.

Many trees native to our desert are allergy triggers: Pollen in Phoenix - Allergies to Pollen

Finally, the universal allergy trigger we have in far more abundance here than most locations is good, old-fashioned dust. You cannot avoid dust in Arizona. In some parts of the state haboobs are common, but even in places where they aren't dust is in the air any time the wind blows. I drove from Oracle down to Tucson yesterday and dust clouds were visible in the western sky. If you get allergy symptoms from dust, I would recommend an air purifier (at least in the bedroom), changing air conditioner filters frequently, and dusting the house far more frequently than you did living elsewhere (and don't forget the ceiling fans — they especially attract dust). I have the ductwork in my house vacuumed by professionals every couple of years. (Look in those local-business coupon packets that come in the mail — there's almost always a discount offer from some air system company in there that will mitigate the expense.)

To give credit where it is due, the one allergy I suffer from that I have never experienced living in Arizona is my mold allergy. I had terrible problems with that when I lived in Pittsburgh, but I'm free of it here.