(April 17) - If you suffer from springtime allergies, there is no place in the United States where you'll be safe from the sniffling and sneezing brought on by pollen. But according to a research group, some cities are worse -- much, much worse -- than others.

The Allergy Capitals, an annual research project of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, set out to identify the most challenging places to live for people who have springtime allergies.

Most of the 10 worst cities were in the South. And it may come as no surprise to people whose eyes water over grass pollen that the researchers determined the worst city was in the Blue Grass State: Lexington, Ky.

The rankings were based on scientific analysis of three factors for each of 100 cities: pollen scores, including airborne grass, tree and weed pollen and mold spores; number of allergy medications used per patient; and number of allergy specialists per patient.

You can see more of the researchers' list here.