Seasonal Allergies Suck!!
This is my favorite time of year. Football, pumpkin spice, vibrant trees followed by crunchy leaves, the crisp chill in the air (hopefully that is coming SOON), and of course..the never-ending fun of seasonal allergies!
Actually, my allergies are the one thing that stops me from fully enjoying this time of year. I seriously cannot figure out how so much snot can accumulate in one person’s head.
Since I’m in my 50s and very mature now(ha), I discreetly use a kleenex (if there is time) when I sneeze. When I was in my twenties I used to get a big thrill from grossing my best friend out by projectile sneezing and seeing just how far the snot would fly before hearing the “PLOP” on our tile floor at work! 🙂
The Beginning
As a child, I never suffered from allergies. Nothing bothered me at all. I could frolic through a field of ragweed without a single sniffle (well, no…I never actually TRIED that).
I was twenty one years old and eight months pregnant when allergies first hit me. My apartment was right next to a large field of…something. This was the first time I had ever experienced this, and it became progressively worse as the years went by.
Between the ages of twenty five and thirty five, the months of August and September were a blur of snot and swollen eyelids. Many times my eyes would swell completely shut. My sons were playing little league football, and I can remember taking large (too large) doses of Sudafed and carrying a Tupperware container of cold water and a washcloth to continuously wash my face and put the cloth over my eyes.
Everybody suggested I should do allergy testing and get shots. My dumbass never listened, instead I suffered. To my defense, I have talked to my primary care providers countless times, and not one ever mentioned a shot as an option.
The Kansas State Fair is held during the first part of September. That fair was so much fun as a kid, not so much as an adult with terrible allergies. I did try again to go a few years back..swollen eyelids and constant sneezing guided my decision to never go back!
I’m writing this in my bed, curtains drawn and staying away from the outside world. What a fun way to spend a weekend!
Medications
I’ve used so many different medications, some over the counter and some prescribed. Actifed helped a bit, but it’s generally frowned upon to wake up in a pool of drool at work. :). Sudafed (the red ones that I later found out is a key ingredient in meth) helped quite a bit..but only if I took more than the recommended dosage. One day after taking more Sudafed than I should have, my throat felt as if it was closing up. I panicked and prayed to God that if I didn’t die, I would not take Sudafed again. I lived, and Sudafed was out. I’ve tried Allegra, Zyrtec, and Flonase.
It has even been “rumored” that I’ve rubbed Vicks around my eyelids because the burning felt better than the horrible itch! Let me make this clear, You are NOT supposed to do this! Yes, again I’m a dumbass but luckily still have my eyesight. 🙂
The past couple of years have been a bit better. I take Claritin(and sometimes Flonase as well). The allergies are bothersome , but I can function.
To Summarize..
What, you may say, is the purpose of this post? Nothing really, except to let every other allergy sufferer know that I hear ya, I see ya, I feel ya! Relief will come soon, and then I’ll find something else to bitch about! Have a good weekend! 🙂
