With climate change contributing to a longer allergy season and more Canadians suffering, REACTINE® has partnered with Tree Canada to help effect change.
Many Canadians may be surprised to find out that there’s a link between climate change and a longer, worsening allergy season. It’s true: allergy season is getting longer, and studies reveal that it’s due to climate change[i] — higher temperatures are causing plants to grow faster, resulting in greater pollen concentration.[ii],[iii] As a consequence, allergy season is starting nearly a month earlier than usual, according to the studies, making the sniffly season 20 days longer than it was in 1990. [iv], [v]
The impact of a longer allergy season
This affects Canadians who experience seasonal allergies, which means that it affects millions of Canadians — an estimated 20 per cent of Canadians suffer from seasonal allergies.[vi]
“With a longer allergy season, I’ve noticed that many of my patients are experiencing prolonged allergy symptoms, the most common being nasal congestion, sneezing, and red, itchy eyes,” says Dr. Stephanie Liu, a family physician and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Alberta. “As annual pollen loads increase year over year, some patients are noticing worsening symptoms and in some cases, these allergic symptoms can lead to asthma flares.”
Medications such as REACTINE® Extra Strength provide fast, effective relief of allergy symptoms like itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, and nasal congestion and last 24 hours.
“Histamine is the chemical in your body that’s released by allergy cells and causes allergy symptoms,” explains Dr. Liu. “Antihistamines like REACTINE® block the effects of histamine, thereby relieving allergy symptoms or stopping them before they start.”
With a longer allergy season, I’ve noticed that many of my patients are experiencing prolonged allergy symptoms, the most common being nasal congestion, sneezing, and red, itchy eyes.
Combating climate change with trees
Getting fast relief from allergy symptoms feels good, but REACTINE® is on a mission to tackle one of the roots of the issue by contributing to efforts to reduce climate change. address climate change. One of the best ways to do so is — you guessed it — with trees.
Excess carbon in the atmosphere increases the greenhouse effect — which is the way that heat becomes trapped close to the Earth’s surface by greenhouse gases, effectively warming up the Earth’s surface and troposphere.[vii] The greenhouse effect is a contributing factor of climate change.
Trees naturally capture carbon from the air, counteracting this climate change contributor. Because they absorb more carbon than they release, they’re known as carbon sinks.[viii] This is why reforestation and tree planting work against the effects of climate change and longer allergy seasons — through their carbon capture.[ix],[x]
Working together to combat climate change
In an effort to help combat climate change and shorten allergy season, REACTINE® has partnered with Tree Canada to plant trees across the country.
REACTINE® is sponsoring the planting of 10,000 seedlings across Canada as part of Tree Canada’s National Greening Program. The sponsorship also extends to “Partners in Planting,” a program which provides companies a team-building opportunity to plant trees, helping their employees gain on-the-ground experience in greening their communities. These initiatives will help the environment while also helping to reduce seasonal allergies for millions of Canadians.
Do you or a loved one suffer from seasonal allergies? Visit reactine.ca to learn more.
[i] William RL, Anderegg John T. Abatzoglou, Leander DL Anderegg, Leonard Bielory, Patrick L. Kinney, and Lewis Ziska. “Anthropogenic climate change is worsening North American pollen seasons.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 7 (2021).1 Anthropogenic climate change is worsening North American pollen seasons Open link in new window PNAS
[ii]Reactine Climate Change Video 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7qnI55zC8c
[iii]https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/techniques/environmental-factors-affecting-plant-growth
[iv] Anderegg 2020
[v]Reactine Climate Change Video 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7qnI55zC8c
[vi] https://asthma.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/BreatheEasy-Allergies_optimized_EN.pdf
[vii] https://www.britannica.com/science/greenhouse-effect
[viii] “The Benefits of Trees.” TreeCanada.(2022). The Benefits of Trees – Tree Canada
[ix] “Les bienfaits des arbres.” Arbres Canada. (2022). Les bienfaits des arbres – Arbres Canada Open link in new window
[x] Megan Dettenmaier, Michael Kuhns, Bethany Unger, Darren McAvoy “Trees and Climate Change.” Utah Forest Facts. trees-and-climate-change.pdf (usu.edu) Open link in new window
