Skin irritants change daily - Weather - skin/weather indices created by Lanacane's Itch Information center and Center for Climatic Research at the University of Delaware, Newark - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), August, 2003

Do you know-that the way your skin feels and looks is closely tied to the daily weather? Lanacane's Itch Information Center, White Plains, N.Y., along with the Center for Climatic Research at the University of Delaware, Newark, have been creating skin/weather indices for the past several years, touching on various skin problems, from the dry and itchy variety in winter to mosquito bites, poison ivy, ultraviolet rays, and bee and wasp stings in summer. These seasonal indicators (www.lanacane.com) help alert the public to specific skin situations in the cities they live in.

Each index rates 400 U.S. cities based on the input of several scientists of different disciplines. These entail dermatologists, toxicologists, entomologists (including a mosquito expert from the Centers for Disease Control), and weather specialists--climatologists--each providing his or her perspective and expertise to help calculate the probability of seasonal skin difficulties on a daily basis, utilizing weather forecasts and historical seasonal factors.

The Lanacane Sting Forecast, meanwhile, helps alert people to bee and wasp daily "hot spots," and continues into October, as bee and wasp aggression actually increases in autumn. The forecast uses special scientific equations to calculate the probability of stings due to the aggressiveness of the bees and wasps (e.g., yellowjackets) based on climate factors and the growing bee and wasp population over the course of the season (each nest may contain 2,000 insects by September or October). It rates cities across the country from "high" to "low" concern for that particular day.