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You’re not alone if you think Metro Vancouver’s allergy season has been worse than usual this year.

Allergy season came late this year, thanks to a seemingly endless winter that led to more mould and late blooming, according to Dr. Donald Stark with the University of British Columbia.

“Instead of all the pollen coming out when the weather is optimal — nice, warm sunny weather earlier in the season and all that pollination gets done in a hurry — this year it’s being dragged out as the weather waxes and wanes,” he said.

The pollen hit allergy sufferers hard when it finally arrived.

“Often people with allergies don’t realize how much it impairs their ability to function optimally, so you have difficulty learning, you’re falling asleep at work or in school just because you don’t get restful sleep to start with plus you’re probably taking antihistamines, which are sedating,” Stark said.

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Stark said allergies are on the rise around the developed world because the places people live in are too clean, in a sense.

“It’s the hygiene hypothesis where we’re letting our children grow up in a much too clean environment,” he said.

“They need to go out and get some dirt in their system to provoke an appropriate immune response and prevent allergies from developing.”

— With files from Geoff Hastings