“I’ve heard that the reason people get so many allergies in DC
that they’ve never had before is because the embassies all
import their native floral and fauna and it affects people. Is
there any truth to that?” —Mandy In 2005, Ken Adelman
interviewed an allergist for The Washingtonian to figure out why
locals sneeze so much. One reason people with fall and spring
pollen allergies have a difficult time in Washington is because
the area has a high rate of asthma, according to Dr. Howard
Boltansky. “Between one-fifth and one-fourth of Americans have
some type of allergy—Washington has a slightly higher proportion
per population,” he said. Some people inherit allergies from
their parents, but 10 to 15 percent of people develop them
naturally. With the high rate of asthma in inner cities,
Boltansky explained, many residents form life-threatening
allergic asthma because they don’t have access to primary-care
physicians, allergists, or pulmonary doctors. Additionally,
Washington has more than 230,000 acres of parkla