<p>My kid is quite allergic to pollen, grasses, etc. He manages with over the counter stuff for now. Are there areas of the country that are more challenging for allergy sufferers? He's interested in colleges in CA (home), WA, and around Boston. Would like to hear from parents of kids with similar condition.</p>
<p>Not a parent but A lot of people I know at UC Davis got allergies when they started going there or they just got worse. Personally my allergies aren’t any worse so far but I’m usually worse off in spring anyways.</p>
<p>In the Boston area, tree pollen starts up in early March and goes through early June, followed by grass pollen, then ragweed which lasts until a good hard frost late in the fall.</p>
<p>I take it he has been tested by an allergist? Try discussing this with the allergist. Before going to college it might be worth having prescription strength medications as a backup, depending of course on where he goes.
The trouble with trying to stay away from allergens is that your allergy profile can change. So if you move where there are different trees or grasses than where you are now, you can become allergic to the new ones or to other things like weeds. Or dust mites, like everyone in my household 
So I don’t know if even a really dry climate will help.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.pollen.com/allergy-weather-forecast.asp[/url]”>http://www.pollen.com/allergy-weather-forecast.asp</a> - to see pollen maps</p>
<p>I suggest not choosing a school with an arboretum. My college, at least, typically planted male trees since female trees produce fruit which can be a pain to deal with. And it’s the male trees that produce pollen.</p>
<p>My kids don’t have plant allergies, but I do. What I’ve read is that high mountainous areas have lower pollen counts because there are fewer plants, and pollen from conifers is so heavy that is quickly falls harmless to the ground. </p>
<p>Coastal areas that get a lot of sea breeze also tend to have low pollen counts; the closer to the ocean, the better (e.g., it matters whether you’re within 1/2 mile of the ocean). So schools like UCSB, UCSD, and Pepperdine might be attractive. Northwestern and the University of Chicago, which get plenty of low-pollen breeze off Lake Michigan, might also be attractive.</p>
<p>Finally, as a rough rule of thumb, plant allergies tend to be worse in southern than in northern areas, due to a longer growing season in the South. One listing of “worst cities for Spring allergies” lists 13 of the 20 worst in the South, and most of the rest in relatively “southerly” parts of the North, including southern Ohio, Missouri, and southeast Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>My own personal experience is that I tend to develop allergies to local plants after a few years living in a place, so my allergies tend to be better for a while after I move. I don’t know whether there’s scientific/medical data to back that up, but if there is, a rising college freshman might do well to start college in a different region.</p>
<p>bclintonk–I agree. To have an allergy you have to be exposed to whatever it is so moving out of the area tends to make a huge difference for most people, for a while. Several people we know say they have the least issues with allergies in the NW part of the country, Seattle, etc. If he is managing with just over the counter stuff, I wouldn’t anticipate a huge uptick in his symptoms. If it becomes an issue, have him get allergy shots.</p>
<p>Years ago doctors recommended people with pollen allergies move to arid environments (Arizona, etc). Of course those same people wanted lawns and now there is pollen in those places as well.</p>
<p>Also see what you can find out about the colleges’ accommodations for students with allergies – especially if some of the schools are in areas where it’s hot during a significant portion of the school year.</p>
<p>At many colleges, not all of the dorms are air-conditioned. Students put fans in the windows and blow vast amounts of pollen into their rooms. Some colleges will assign students with documented allergies to the few available air-conditioned dorms or permit (or even provide) window air conditioners. The latter strategy may be preferable because it means that a freshman could live with the other freshmen, rather than in somewhere where he would be isolated from his class.</p>
<p>It goes without saying that at schools that provide air-conditioning for students with allergies, those students are considered exceedingly desirable roommates.</p>
<p>I have seasonal allergies and asthma but I cope with it by taking benadryl at night( because it makes me very sleepy) in the spring.( & drinking coffee) 
The northwest has pretty clean air though, except for the particulate from the evergreen trees.
[Air</a> Compare | AIRNow | US EPA](<a href=“AirCompare”>AirCompare)</p>
<p>I’m told that you can request testing for the most typical allergens in a specific region, for example a “Pacific Northwest Panel” which will give you information about current sensitivities. Pollen, of course is only one area of concern, with mild spores being another for some regions. And, not to forget, allergies develop over time as well. Good Luck! One reason my DS is leaving our region of the country is to escape his terrible allergies to mountain cedar, which dominates Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri and is present to some extent throughout the south.</p>
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<p>This is what we did for D1 - she qualified for an in-window A/C unit due to her allergies/asthma. We knew this ahead of time, thankfully, since the freshman dorm she was assigned to was not A/C’d at all.</p>
<p>I was told by my allergist that the longer you live in a region, the more allergic you will become to it. I live in the Bay Area and have more problems with asthma here than anyplace else. Your son might do better to try another part of the country than California in terms of allergy exposure.</p>
<p>I think if you know what you are allergic to, it’s easier to find a place where you are “less bothered.” I’m allergic to pine trees that are sapping. I left Michigan with many pine trees that sap for urban areas of NY, Boston, downtown Minneapolis where I rarely had allergies…returned to Michigan and voila…allergies returned. So my advice is to find a place where the allergens are less abundant in the immediate area, so for the OP places where there are not lots of grasses and trees…think urban or more cement than grass and trees etc.</p>
<p>he should try a neti pot if he hasn’t already.</p>
<p>Read this safety information first if you’re considering a neti pot.</p>
<p>[Is</a> Rinsing Your Sinuses Safe?](<a href=“http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm316375.htm]Is”>Is Rinsing Your Sinuses With Neti Pots Safe? | FDA)</p>
<p>Also, I’m not sure whether young people would be willing to use a neti pot in a college dorm environment, where there is no privacy in the portion of the bathroom where the sinks are located.</p>
<p>new england is out of the question!
maybe south Florida or Texas.
erin’s dad is 100% correct about AZ.</p>
<p>so check out rice, u of miami, nova southeastern maybe a little north rollins or eckerd college. U of texas austin, stetson</p>
<p>Texas - especially the central Texas area where Austin is located - is considered one of the worst allergy locations in the country: juniper ashei aka mountain cedar, November to February or March, followed by oaks March to June.</p>
<p>Really should be fully tested to id the family of problems. Many people do suffer through the pine season, all up and down the east coast. Many people have flares because the growing season is so long in CA. Some react to dust in the southwest. It will depend. You also want to learn what dorm options are.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the input! I made an appt to see a specialist and do testing to narrow down what exactly he’s allergic to. I do hope he’ll get accepted somewhere in CA. Merry Christmas!</p>
<p>I’m not sure how to answer this…but I will say…our kid had NO allergies UNTIL he went to college. He went to school in a very urban area. We live in the middle of the woods…really! He has an allergy to TREES which became symptomatic when he was a college freshman!</p>