allergy Archives - usatoday24

spring will be hell for allergy sufferers

March 20, 2026 by usatoday24

Spring is just around the corner, and although for some it is good news for being able to start making plans outside the home more frequently, for allergy sufferers it is very bad news. Recent meteorology and the climate crisis have been simmering a scenario that experts already classified as extreme and that causes diagnosed allergy sufferers (and even those who are not) to start showing symptoms early. The experts. The Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology itself has given the alarm voicesince the spring that we are about to begin is shaping up to be one of the most intense and harsh in memory for those allergic to pollen in Spain. And it is not that this year there is “a lot of pollen”, but what is happening is that the behavior of the plants is changing completely. The combination of very intense winter rains with very mild temperatures has generated an “explosive cocktail” that is already beginning to show its first symptoms. The pollen map. To understand the magnitude of the problem, you have to look at the figures from the SEAIC, which uses meteorological, hydrological and aeropolinic sampling data to draw up its annual forecast. This year, the south and the center of the peninsula bear the brunt, with ground zero in Extremadura, where forecasts point to skyrocketing ranges of between 10,000 and 12,000 grams per cubic meter in both provinces. In the case of AndalusiaWe must highlight Seville, where very high concentrations of 6000-8000 grams per square meter are expected, while in Jaén, the fact that it stands out for its wonderful olive trees means that it also faces “intense” levels. The center and north of the peninsula. MadridToledo and the rest of Castilla-La Mancha will range between moderate and high levels, easily exceeding the thresholds that trigger the most serious and annoying symptoms. But the good news is that the north of the peninsula, the Mediterranean coast and the Canary Islands will, in principle, register mild or moderate levels. The perfect storm. Historically, allergy temperatures followed a fairly predictable biological clock, but not anymore. The abundant rainfall that has drenched the peninsula during the winter months has left the land in optimal conditions. The plants, especially grasses and olive trees, have grown strongly, developing deep roots and dense crowns. Added to this is the second ingredient of the perfect storm: premature heat. The mild temperatures have caused pollination to come forward, and as the vice president of the SEAIC explains, the environment is increasingly “more hostile” for patients. Pollinosis is no longer an exclusive problem in May and June, but rather begins much earlier and ends later. Much more allergy. If we look at the trend that has been followed in recent years in this time of allergy, we can see that 2026 is fulfilling the trend that has been set in previous years, so we are talking about a new normal. A recent study from the University of Córdoba confirmed specifically, the pollen season in Spain has lengthened by about 25 days since the 1990s. The increase in temperatures and desertification are not only stretching the allergy calendar, but are introducing new allergenic species such as amaranths, in areas where they did not proliferate before. And other factors. Experts point out that the quality of the pollen is something that is also having a lot of influence this season. To understand it, we look at the increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which acts as a fertilizer for plants, which causes them, in addition to producing more pollen, to also express more proteins that are detected by our immune system, generating a greater response that gives us the classic allergy symptoms. Added to this is also the atmospheric pollution that weakens the respiratory mucous membranes and makes it easier for pollen to penetrate deeper into our lungs. Take action as soon as possible. With all this data, you have to start taking the treatment (when recommended by the doctor) when these dates are approaching and not wait until you start to feel the infernal itch in your nose or eyes. Besides, consult official sources pollen levels and wearing a mask at times of higher concentration of pollen to which one is sensitive is the most recommended today. Images | Brittany Colette In Xataka | It’s normal to make fun of the sudden matcha tea craze, but there is someone who does take it seriously: science

Do you sneeze when eating dark chocolate? It’s not an allergy, it’s a “bug” in your DNA inherited from Neanderthals

February 14, 2026 by usatoday24

Buy a bar of chocolate with 90% cocoa to get home and put the first piece in your mouth to have that bitter and pleasant hit that many seek. But what you find is a series of sneezes as if it were an allergy. If you have identified with this microstory, you are not allergic to cocoa, but you are part of a curious minority victim of a neurological “short circuit” that science has studied and that could directly connect with Neanderthals. A crossing of cables. Sometimes the body gives us many surprises, such as sneezing when we get a bit of sun after leaving the house. But if we focus on chocolate, the reality is that We are not talking about an immune response with histamine involved. The explanation most accepted by the scientific community lies in the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve is one of the most important nerves we have and is responsible for transmitting sensitive information from the face to the brain. In the event that we eat dark chocolate, especially with a purity greater than 70%, compounds such as theobromine and caffeine intensely stimulate taste receptors. The theory. What is being proposed right now is that in certain people this signal is so powerful that the trigeminal nerve becomes “confused.” In this way, when passing close to the optic nerve and the respiratory tract, the brain interprets this explosion of bitter and intense taste as a nasal irritant or a powerful visual signal, triggering the sneeze to “expel” the supposed threat. The solar connection. As we have mentioned previously, there is a well-documented phenomenon in which 25-30% of the population sneezes when looking at bright light like that of the Sun. This is what is known as a photic sneeze reflex and science has strong support for stating that it is due to hyperexcitability in the visual cortex. Well, chocolate sneezing seems to be a variant or “first cousin” of this photic reflex. In fact, it is quite likely that if a person sneezes on chocolate, they will also do so when leaving the house on a sunny day. Both are failures in the filtering of signals in the trigeminal nerve. Neanderthal heritage. As explained by biologist Gerry Ward in an archived blog postthis trait is not a random error that exists in the population, but is a direct inheritance in our genetic material, and goes one step further by pointing out that it may come directly from Neanderthals. The hypothesis on the table is that, in prehistoric times, this reflex acted as a defense mechanism to clean the respiratory tract against unknown tastes or smells that could be dangerous. In this way, what today is a great nuisance when eating a simple dessert, 40,000 years ago could have been a great evolutionary advantage that marked the survival of certain individuals. It’s more complex. Although dissemination almost always falls into great simplicity, genetic data is complex. In this case, Ward’s theory placed the responsible gene in the chromosome 11but later data from 23andMe, the famous genetic analysis company, identified specific markers associated with this phenomenon on chromosome 12. But this later changed, since studies on the photic reflex pointed to variations in the chromosomes 2 and 3. This suggests that the trait is polygenic since there is not a single “switch” for sneezing, but rather several genetic components that increase the probability of suffering from it. How many suffer from it. Although a priori you may hear that this is a ‘problem’ that is present in 30% of the population, the reality is that this figure corresponds to the photic reflex related to sunlight. The sneeze caused specifically by dark chocolate is much more unique, since, according to data collected by 23andMe among its users, only about 1% of the population reports systematically sneezing after consuming dark chocolate. In this way, we are facing a select club within the largest group of those who sneeze for light. Images | Tetiana Bykovets Towfiqu barbhuiya In Xataka | Something strange is happening with the chocolate crisis in Spain: households consume less, but business improves

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