You're getting older.
Allergies can come on out of nowhere in adulthood, but despite what you may have heard (or hoped), they don't last in cycles of seven years. So if you have them now, you're probably stuck with them. What's more, with each subsequent season, you develop more exposure to pollen, and that increases your sensitivity to its misery-making effects. People tend to think that their medications have stopped working, Bajowala says, but the real problem is that their allergies have gotten worse. Scientists suspect this will worsen as higher temperatures and longer growing seasons produce more plants, resulting in higher pollen counts (some parts of the country are already at record levels—and have been since March!). If you're desperate for relief, you may need to talk to a doctor about a stronger treatment plan, like scheduling regular allergy shots.
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