Improving allergies since move from US to CH

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
I wanted to ask if anyone else has experienced something similar:

I have four kids, all born in the US where we lived for the last 14 years. All had developed food sensitivities in the US. I was raised in CH, never had any allergies, but started having bad hay fever at age 26 after moving to the US (it got really bad every summer when coming to visit Switzerland). We now have moved back to Switzerland and this is the first summer I had no allergies since I had left Switzerland 14 years ago. My kids' food sensitivities seem to have disappeared completely over the last 4 months that we have lived here.

Our neighbors here who lived in the US until 2 years ago said that their son's asthma has disappeared since they don't live in the US any more.

Has anyone had similar experiences? I know that the genetically modified foods in the US cause a lot of harm and possibly food allergies. Is it possible that there are other toxins making people sick over there and not here? (Thinking of heavily chlorinated water in the US for example).

2
Yes have experienced the same, did you live in a large city I put my experience down to the cleaner air and lack of pollution

3
We had lived in Pittsburgh PA for 7 years and the last 7 years outside of Boston in a nice oceanside town. Not really polluted.

4
Yes, we've had different allergies in Switzerland from Australia.

However, I suspect it has nothing to do with 'genetically modified' and everything to do with 'air quality' and 'household toxins'...

It may also be the difference in humidity, lack of carpets (dust mite), fresh air, or change of diet.

We eat a lot more plain foods, fruit, veg, home-cooked meals, and less eating out, so less 'hidden' ingredients...

Whatever it is triggering your allergies, if you are not exposed to the allergen, your immune system settles down, once you are exposed again, it's on 'high alert' and it doesn't take much to tip the balance.

I'm allergic to tomatoes. I can eat a little tomato here and there, and it won't kill me, but if I avoid tomatoes for a period of time, and eat just a little, I can 'get away' with it - but if I eat a little tomato today, a little tomorrow...then by the third day I'm gonna start getting itchy/grumpy...

I'm also allergic to perfumes, household cleaning products, cigarette smoke... I have a cleaner who comes once a fortnight to use all those chemicals, and she makes sure she airs the house out as she cleans, so by the time I get home the chemicals are mostly gone from the air.

When my mum comes to visit, it's horrible - she's a complete perfume/chemical addict, and can't seem to get the point that it's toxic to me. I'm the sort of person who has sneezing fits on the bus if someone walks past who is wafting the wrong perfume...

5
Can't say...my (3) kids were born in the US and have lived in Germany and now here. No allergies any place. None for me, either. German hubby, on the other hand, has hay fever everywhere (DE, CH & NY), except for when we lived in Texas. And none of us have food allergies...

6
I've never had allergies anywhere I've lived except here in Switzerland I am highly allergic to forsythia. It really really bad. Of course I forget about it until spring comes again and I see those evil yellow flowers. I should really get the needle desensitizing treatment thing.

Also, I've developed an allergy to bee pollen, makes me break out in hives which I've never had before.

7
*cough*

You know what please?

8
hahahahahahaha....

That's quite pun-ney, i mean honey, i mean funny....oh, never mind

9
I moved here from the US, too, but never had any allergies, food or otherwise. In general, I avoid "processed" and fast foods and eat pretty clean and organic, so that could be why. I had/have sinus problems, which were worse back in the US. They haven't improved much here, but I attribute that more to the dry climate.

My husband, however, has allergies and they weren't much different in the States than they are here, except there, his allergies were primarily in the spring; here, he gets them in the spring and early fall because of some additional allergen.

10
I had fewer issues with allergies when I first arrived here as well. I'd come from Florida, and had allergies pretty much year-round there, here even spring allergies weren't a problem at first.

A few years on though, I have allergy problems again, spring and fall, and now they're bad enough that it causes asthma. I spoke with allergist about this, she said it's not uncommon to have a bit of a break from allergies when moving someplace new. This is the third move where I noticed this difference, with at least one season cycle allergy-free, only to have it come back with a vengeance starting with goldenrod bloom (amazingly to me, called " Ambrosia " here) in spring / early summer.

Of course, it IS better here, since the growing season doesn't include winter, at least I have one season break.

11
I'm just the opposite - I was healthy as a horse living in the US, in Asia, and on the right side of the Zürichsee. Now living in Ausserschwyz it's a rare day when I'm pain-free.

Rather worryingly, three of my dogs developed serious respiratory problems since living in Ausserschwyz. Seems too much of a coincidence.

Something strange going on here on the Dark Side.

(Oddly enough, the two places where I felt the healthiest and most energetic were Beijing and Hong Kong, cities not exactly known for their air quality and avoidance of chemicals.)

12
I never had an allergy problem until I moved here. Around March-April I get allergic to the grass pollen. It's pure misery sometimes.

I grew up with asthmatic bronchitis in the subtropical humid environment of Okinawa, even being hospitalized twice. I moved to dry eastern New Mexico at the age of 12 and it went away, has never returned.

So, different environments and different triggers lead to different experiences, I guess. It's not a US specific thing.

13
Back in Poland I had a whole array of allergies and severe bouts of coughing accompanied with chest pains and wheezing. It all started a few years ago. I was tested and prescribed steroids for my asthmatic symptoms. The doctor warned me that if I did not take them, I will get full-blown asthma. I never took them and moved to Switzerland a year later. All of my symptoms have disappeared here.

14
Very good point, I think the pollen has a lot to do with it. I have had different allergies in Pennsylvania vs Florida (autumn or spring), terrible allergies in the UK, not many allergies in Lausanne or Pisa, and only very mild allergies in Zurich.

15
I only started to have all sorts of allergy since I moved to Switzerland..

Pollen, gluten, and dust.. I cant even go back to my home town anymore (Hong Kong) for those great food selection over there because almost everything has gluten in it, and gluten free products are just not popular there. I cant go to my home town during warm seasons as well because if I don't put on long sleeves to cover myself I would get serious allergies from the heavy dust on the streets and around.. (happened in this March & April)

16
I had severe environmental allergies, not food, when living in the US as a young child. I went though years of allergy treatments there by an allergist, and the situation improved so that I wasn't miserable all the time, but never went completely away.

Upon coming to CH, I have lived allergy free, except for certain animal allergies, for years. I attribute this to the following--differnt grasses/pollens to the ones that I was allergice to, no air-conditioning, and just general cleaner environment. I was heavily allergice to mold/mildew and have nearly no problems here with that one, in part thanks to no air conditioning.

17
Not allergies for me, but mini-migraines.

I used to suffer them 2-3x a month when in the UK...now I suffer them once every 2-3 months, and even then they are much lighter than before.

18
Since moving here 32 years ago, have never had a cold or flu although I could guarantee at least one bout per year whilst living in England.

Also notice my hair grows much quicker (too quick - hairdressing bills!) than in the UK.