Allergy report ranks Oklahoma City among top 3 worst places to live

A new report lists several major cities across the United States as being the worst to live in for those with sensitivity to allergies.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), Oklahoma City falls just behind Wichita, Kansas, and New Orleans, Louisiana, as the third-worst place to live if you have allergies.

Additionally, nearby Tulsa, Oklahoma, also enters the top ten ranking a spot behind Oklahoma City.

The AAFA says more than 100 million people in the US live with various types of allergies every year, many of them having seasonal pollen allergies.

Here are the top ten worst places to live with allergies according to the AAFA:

1. Wichita, Kansas
2. New Orleans, Louisiana
3. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
4. Tulsa, Oklahoma
5. Memphis, Tennessee
6. Little Rock, Arkansas
7. Raleigh, North Carolina
8. Richmond, Virginia
9. Greenville, South Carolina
10. Greensboro, North Carolina

The AAFA said it looked at multiple factors, including pollen scores for trees, grass and weeds throughout the year, over-the-counter allergy medicine use and the availability of board-certified allergists and immunologists in the surveyed areas.

SEE ALSO: What to know if you suffer from pollen allergies

According to the foundation, tree pollen is the first pollen to appear each year, with trees producing the most pollen from February through April.

In some regions, such as the South, trees may produce pollen as early as December or January. 

Grass pollen causes most late spring and summer pollen allergy symptoms, the foundation says, with most lasting from April through early June.

Depending on your location, the AAFA said weed pollen, especially ragweed, can trigger symptoms starting in August and peaking in mid-September. Ragweed season may last 6 to 10 weeks until the first frost. Some parts of the U.S. now have pollen year-round.

To learn more about the ranking and how to treat allergy symptoms, visit the AAFA website.