>AFAIK, allergies were not as widespread before as it is now. The numbers of persons affected by allergies seems to go up exponentionaly. Some experts have advanced that pollution may play a big role on the increase of allergies. That may explain why we see more and more case of allergies.

That would explain it (and why I don't remember them from back home - I grew up in, it now seems, a green country), and would also confirm my fear.