Wednesday, April 18, 2012

I Hate You, Pollen.


Dear Pollen,

I know that you are essential to life as we know it, but I hate you anyway.

I never used to have seasonal allergies. I remember when I was a kid, traveling with the whole family in our faux-wood-grain station wagon, windows rolled all the way down (including that huge one in the back) on a beautiful spring day, wind flying through our hair, and Sister Snarky being absolutely, positively miserable. I didn't get it. What was her problem?

Karma is a bitch.

These days, I have to essentially lock myself in my house with all the windows shut until the worst of it is over. My sneezing is incessant, my nose is so itchy I want to run an industrial-strength pipe cleaner though it, and my eyes - oh, for the love of all thing holy, my eyes! - it will be a while before I get to wear my contact lenses again. Or stop sitting on my hands to keep them away. SO itchy! And I am probably going to get some sort of horrible eye infection like I do every year because I. Cannot. Stop. Touching them. Also, my nails are like razors and even though the skin around the eyes is so super-tough and resilient, I might be doing some damage with all this irresistible scratching and tugging. Gah.

I didn't know vampires had allergies!

 I have been downing Benadryl and generic-something-or-another like candy to no avail. If you could OD on eye drops, I would be dead by now. I have eaten local honey to no avail and was too impatient for the immunotherapy shots to take (maybe next year...). My neti pot helps, but somehow I think would be awkward for the office - nobody likes an air-hanky in the ladies room sink. Or so I would imagine.

I need a bubble.

 Or one of these... Although there is that latex allergy of mine to consider...

Do you have allergies? Any tips for surviving the season? Maybe I just need to start a countdown clock to the next hard freeze...

25 comments:

  1. Ugh! Tell me about it. I never use to have seasonal allergies and now I'm nearly crippled by them. I'm also prone to sinus infections now and I tent to loose my sense of smell from the inflammation. This morning was awful, I was woken up at three am with a migraine from the pressure of my sinuses. I crawled out of bed and grabbed some drugs, but didn't seem to help. By the time the alarm went off to get up the pressure was so bad I was getting dizzy. Long story short I ended up hurling from the pain and dizziness. FML allergies suck ass.

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    1. oh geez. u have my sympathies. that is rough..
      gusgus

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    2. UGH - the HEADACHES - how could I have forgotten?? I was definitely reminded this morning... Blerg. At least it rained last night so maybe it won't be so awful today. I checked Pollen.com earlier this week and the entire country was swathed in bright red.

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  2. I had no idea how bad they could be until I met MrCC. They're brutal. Poor bastard suffers until first frost too.

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    1. I actually thought it wouldn't be that bad this year and then BAM the oak pollen killed me dead.

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  3. pain in my arse! neti pot, reduce wheat n dairy n sugar, homeopathic eye drops (that i think actually help. huh!), quercetin, vit C like i take in air, filter air at home 24/7 w windows shut ( i think this is the biggest help ), and oddest of all.. i wear a filter mask (respro) while out running and while driving. i know some overzealous cop w a hard on for the "T" word is gonna pull me over some day. so yeah this is the stuff i do and still have eyes i wanna tear out, that strange pain in my nose, thats almost always followed by the impossible itchyness that inevitably leads to sneezing fits that require u to warn the nice people that they dont really need to bless me for the next frakkin month! so do evergreens do this much harm? or should i look for shore areas? cos mannnnn, moving is def not out pf the question here.
    oh, and if i slack off i can even get asthma out of the deal. nice aint it? sho makes a fella tired.
    gusgus

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    1. I seriously tell my coworkers that one "bless you" will cover the entire day of sneezing lol...

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  4. Have you tried infecting yourself with hookworms as allergy relief? I'm not kidding...

    http://themoderatevoice.com/46921/hookworms-allergies-asthma/

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  5. I feel you, sister. I moved to LA about a year ago, and, apparently it was poor planning to move to a place full of smog and flowering vegetation at the same time I lost my health insurance. I have asthma that flares up with allergies. ODing on antihistamines (zyrtec, allegra, benadryl) mostly keeps the oozing out of facial orifices under control, but I have accepted that I will not be able to breathe from March to June. Maybe I'm remembering it a little too fondly, but being able to take singulair and nasonex was like riding a unicorn while shooting rainbows up my nose. That's how awesome prescription drugs are.

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    1. I wish I could use the nasal sprays - I am prone to nose bleeds and they really make it worse. I'll take stuffiness over blood spontaneously gushing from my nose, sadly.

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  6. Benadryl sucks. Never works for me. Try a pill like Claritin or something generic.

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    1. I actually take generic Zyrtec - not sure if that's better or worse then others - and supplement with Benadryl. It's hard to tell how much any of this helps - I can only imagine it would be worse without, but I don't dare find out lol...

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  7. I don't think the pollen bothers me too bad (and now I'm sure I've just jinxed myself!) It really bothers my dogs - their eyes get all goopy and disgusting. But I just give them some Benadryl! My cure for every dog ailment!!

    Sorry Snarky... itchy eyeballs suck.

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    1. If it was bothering you, you would DEFINITELY know it.

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  8. I had the worst allergies...that would turn into sinus infections because my immune system was in overload. It sucked. The recurring sinus infections and the pressure on my sinuses essentially caused my nose to break...I shit you not...it wasn't like a clean break, but my septum (which is supposed to be straight up and down) collapsed to one side of my face and blocked my left sinus cavity from draining. It actually made my nose lean to the side on my face. People noticed immediately. I had to get two surgeries - a nose job (the medical one - not the one all the actresses get and say it is for medical reasons) and my tonsils out. It sucked. The nose job wasn't bad, but if you are over 12 years old having your tonsils out is probably the worst pain ever. I actually regret not getting a little something/something done to my nose more than just getting my septum straightened. Oh Well.....

    To avoid future surgeries I had to start allergy shots. It is a pain in the ass and a huge time commitment, but after 4 years of weekly shots and daily doses of 5 different allergy medicines I can walk outside this spring. I am actually training for a 1/2 marathon which I could have never done before the shots. I haven't had one sinus headache or sinus infection this spring.

    I am on home maintence now so all I have to do it give myself two shots (one in each arm) every 10 - 14 days and take my daily meds. My insurance even covered the shots 100% because I was costing them so much money with the recurring infections and doctors visits.

    Of the 5 medications I take 2 are over the counter - Zyrtec and Benedryl. I take Zyrtec every night even if I am not having allergy problems. I am allergic to indoor and pet stuff too so I have to take meds year round. My doctor said that since Zyrtec is 24 hour you just have to find the right time for you to take it and then take it every 24 hours. It made me sleepy so I take it after dinner each night and then I am ready for bed. When I take my allergy shot I also take a Benedryl right before bed just to reduce the swelling I get from the shots. If find that for me Zyrtec seems to work better on pollen, dust and pet allergies and Benedryl seems to work better for skin and eye allergies...I think it is because they have different active ingredients and block different allergens in your bloodstream.

    I hope you find what works for you. Allergies suck and it is no fun being sick 9 months out of the year.

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    1. I agree with you on the Zyrtex/Benadryl one-two punch front. Luckily they do not make me sleepy. Although it would be good if they did since it would be a bonus if they helped me to get to sleep/stay asleep lol... And HFS your allergies broke your nose?! That's messed up. I do get bad headaches and sometimes it feels like me teeth are aching, but nothing quite that dramatic. Yikes.
      I will have to give the shots again - I know it might take a while... I guess I am just hoping that I will grow out of my allergies they way i grew into them and they will be gone! Hey - I can dream... : )

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    2. Dear Mel in the Atl:

      I will never complain about my allergies again. EVER. It sounds you like had an awful, awful time!!!

      I've been thinking about getting the shots. After reading your comment, I may have to give it a try.

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  9. I really feel for you. My son has super bad allergies too and is so miserable right now. I guess I should stop saying bless you every time he sneezes :)

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    1. Eh - it's well intentioned - and I guess you can't ever really be too blessed lol...

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  10. Hay fever blows. I don't have it as bad as some of you though. I grew out of a lot of it. My eyes used to swell shut & I'd get hives as a kid. Booooo!!

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    1. I'm currently dealing with rashy, itchy skin from food allergies (that I also only developed as an adult) - it's like the whole system is falling apart! Hoping they go away as mysteriously as they arrived, one day...

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    2. I was just at my dermatologist today and she told me to try Allegra for my itchy skin. She says it doesn't make her tired and it works well for her.

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  11. My nice red porch has a disturbing coating of greenish-yellow on it right now. I was thinking about sitting outside with a glass of wine but... nah.

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    1. I have a near-desperate need to sit outside and get some fresh air and sun. Unfortunately it is in direct odds with my need to breathe, soooo...yeah no.

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