Each year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) compiles a ranking of U.S. Spring Allergy Capitals. In order to develop this year's ranking of 100 major metropolitan areas, researchers evaluated three factors: pollen scores (recorded pollen counts and related allergy prevalence for certain pollen types), number of allergy medications used per patient and number of allergy specialists per patient.

For 2006, the top ten U.S. Spring Allergy Capitals are:

1. Hartford, Conn.

2. Greenville, S.C.

3. Boston, Mass.

4. Detroit, Mich.

5. Orlando, Fla.

6. Knoxville, Tenn.

7. Omaha, Neb.

8. Sacramento, Calif.

9. Washington, D.C.

10. Baltimore, Md.

None of last year's top three - Lexington, Ky., Little Rock, Ark. and Chattanooga, Tenn. - made this year's top ten. High spring pollen levels, patient medication usage and a lower-than-average number of board certified allergist per patient helped push Hartford to the top of the rankings.

"Anyone who lives in an Allergy Capital should take the necessary steps to minimize the impact of allergies on their life -- indoors and outdoors," says Mike Tringale, Director of Communications for AAFA, in a press release. "The Allergy Capital ranking is a great tool to help increase awareness about what allergy sufferers can do to avoid allergy triggers and actually enjoy the spring season."

The Spring Allergy Capital rankings demonstrate that some American cities are worse than others for spring allergies. However, the main purpose of the ranking is to demonstrate that no one in America is safe from allergies this season. According to the AAFA, more than 50 million Americans will be troubled with allergies this spring. Experts believe this spring may be particularly troublesome because of the mild winter experienced by much of the country.

The rankings were released by the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America in an Apr. 18, 2006 press release.

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