Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Short post and Q+A

Sorry I have been so busy lately I haven't been able to post.  I am also not sure what to post about so I will post about a weird allergy dream I had and then some Q+A.

I dreamed I went to my allergist and told him the inside of my nose felt weird.  He examined and looked inside and told me that a patch of very tiny flowers were starting to grown in each nostril.  I asked him to take them out and he told me its impossible to remove them.  I asked how this could happen and why I never heard of it before.  He said that its a rare thing that sometimes happens and no-one knows why.  I left and was freaking out about it and what would happen when they started pollinating.   Everyone I talked to just said 'oh well', like it was no big deal.  After that I woke up.

Q+A:

Q: Out of all the things that you're allergic to, is there one allergen you react most severely to? 
A: I react severely to most of the things I am allergic to.  There are 3 things that are the worst, but its hard to say if one is worse than the other 2.  Its cat dander, ragweed pollen, and sage pollen.  With those I don't get a build-up of symptoms, it all just comes on really quickly and gets worse from there.  The effects last a long time after I am no longer exposed to them.

Q:How do you deal with air travel? 
A: I try to avoid it as much as possible.  It makes my head and ears hurt really bad with pressure and congestion.  It takes a day or so for the horrible headache to go away so the 1st day I go somewhere I can't do anything.

Q: Are you allergic to perfumes/scents and has that caused issues in public transit?
A: Yes I am, and it has.  When my allergies act up I usually try to run off but in public transit I am pretty much stuck and really close to what is bothering my nose.  I get many weird looks and its pretty embarrassing.

Not sure if I will be able to post again before the end of the year but I'd like to.  Give me some ideas, some feedback on my posts, and I am always happy to keep doing Q+A.  Feel free to contact me on e-mail or yahoo messenger too if you want to chat.

Happy Holidays!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Looking for allergy suggestions and more Q+A

I hope everyone is ok from the storm.  I was going to post this last week, but the storm happened, and we had no power or internet for some time.  All is ok now and pretty much back to normal.

Allison has been so understanding and helpful with my allergies.  Most other people I have dated ranged from tolerating it to getting annoyed or mad at me about them.  Allison bends over backwards to do all she can to be helpful.  I feel kinda bad that she is doing so much for me.

One of her favorite things in the world is flowers, and when we started dating she got rid of all of them and never got any more.  All she has now is some pictures of flowers.  I feel like I want to help her out a bit and have her able to have some flowers again.  I always say that I am allergic to all flowers, but thats not exactly true.  I have had allergic reactions to flowers I have come in contact to in the past, and I just assumed I am allergic to all types just to make things easy if people ask.  I figure there must be a few flowers I am not allergic to, and I'd like to be able to let Allison enjoy something she really likes.

What I want to do is see if there are any kinds of flowers I am not allergic to.  I want to wait til Jan or so to try it out, when I have the least number of things bothering my nose.  The best idea I could come up with is to have a flower near me and have a fan making a slight breeze and seeing if I start to have a reaction.  I think thats the closest to how I would be exposed to a flower that is in a place I am in.  I would usually avoid sniffing a flower or brushing myself against one so I dont want to test it that way.

I want a few opinions on this.  Is this a silly idea, or would it work ok?  Would there be a better way to do it?  Thank you for any ideas.


 And here is a bit more of Q+A

Q: You said 'we' when you talked about precautions you take at home....does this mean you have roommates? Is it hard to get them to understand/help your allergies?
A:  I mainly stay with Allison at her place so she is the one I was talking about.  I have had roomies during my life that kind of run the whole range.  Some understood pretty well, some didn't care much to understand, some were just clueless, and some would try to understand but just not get it.  Luckily I usually had ones that were understanding to some level, or at least tried.  The hardest one to deal with though was one who was trying to be nice and understanding but just really failing at it.  Made it hard for me to say anything to her because she was trying so hard.

Like I always say, keep the questions coming.  It gives me ideas on what to write about!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Clogged ears and Q+A

My ears get clogged when my allergies are really bad.  It feels kind of like they are stuffed with cotton and it feels like it muffles sound.  It also can make me feel a bit off balance sometimes.  Since ragweed season started, my ears have felt clogged up all the time.  I recently saw my ENT and when I told him about it he said that considering how constantly congested my nose and sinuses he was surprised my ears haven't also been constantly congested up until now.

So it seems I can add ear congestion to my list of things that are always congested.

I have also been given a more questions to answer, and that's my favorite part of these posts:

Q: I can't imagine sneezing as much as you say you do! Do you tend to basically have to sneeze full-out, or is it more rapid, weaker sneezing for prolonged periods? Either way, I imagine it's exhausting.
A: I get both.  I usually have to sneeze full-out though.  When I get really bad I have much more of those rapid weaker ones that go on and on without me being able to take a breath.  I really hate the rapid ones because of that.  It really is exhausting sneezing so much.  I leaves me worn out and tired much of the time when my allergies are bad.
 
Q: And what kind of precautions do you try to take at home? Do you have air filters, etc??
A:  The basic of course is tissues everywhere, lol.  HEPA filters of course, especially in my bedroom.  I don't keep any plants in my house, not just in case of plant allergies, but also to avoid mold that can grow in soil.  I try to usually keep my mattress and pillows in plastic cases, with sheets and pillowcases over them, but it can be a bit uncomfortable to sleep on.  I think there might be more comfy forms of dustmite coves, but I haven't looked for them yet.  I use blinds, but not curtains.  I don't have much stuff hanging on the walls or nick-knacks because of dust.  I should have wood floors instead of carpets, but I don't have the $ to do anything about that right now.  I should also be cleaning very often, but it bothers my allergies so I tend to put it off too long and of course it makes the cleaning worse.  We remove our shoes at the door so we don't track in more stuff.  We make sure the bathroom dosen't get moldy or mildewy or musty..keep it ventilated and no standing water.  I think that's it.  There might be more but its so routine that I probably don't think about it.

Q:If you were visiting a friend and they said "tell me what I can do to make things better for you while you're visiting", what action or actions would help the most make things more bearable with your allergies?
A: 'let me go home' is the first thing I can think of, lol.  Seriously though, I can't think of anything someone can do that would be super-helpful in the moment.  If I had to come up with something, I'd say to move any flowers, etc out of the room(s) we are in, try not to use anything scented at all, and don't vacuum/dust when I am there (that's best done a bit b4 I show up so that dust and such will settle down).  I would also ask for them to not bless me all the time and to act like nothing is wrong.  The less attention I get about it, the better.  Unless it was a really good friend however, I think I'd feel too embarrassed to really say anything.

Thanks for letting me answer questions, it makes posting easier.  Keep them coming!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Something people don't get, and some Q+A

Whenever the pollen count starts to go low, I always get people saying to me 'Oh you must be fine now that the pollen count is down'  or 'why are your allergies still so bad?  The pollen count went down'  It gets kind of annoying after a while.  There are a number of reasons why my allergies don't go down the day the pollen count does.

1.  I react very strongly to many kinds of pollen.  So even if the count is low and most people don't react, I still do.

2.  The more I am exposed to something I am allergic to, the more over-sensitive all my allergies get.  Like right now since this ragweed season has been going on for a while, everything is setting me off really intensely. (since I started making this post a few weeks ago, now things have been low enough for long enough that things are starting to lessen for me)

3.  As I talked about before in this blog, things bother me for longer than they usually should.  So even after I am away from what is setting off my allergies, its still going to affect me for a longer time.  Some people are fine after a few minutes of being away or maybe a few hours.  for me its anywhere from hours to days unless I am exposed for just a moment.

4.  I am allergic to many other things.  People seem to think its only possible to be allergic to pollen!  I have so many other allergies that at least one thing is going to be bothering me most of the time.



I have gotten two questions for the Q+A.

Q: What are some of the everyday tasks that are hard to do when your allergies are really bad?
A: Eating, drinking, sleeping, shopping, reading, and really any other activity that needs focus or extended effort.  My allergies do interfere all the time, but the above can become almost impossible when my allergies are really bad.  Eating and drinking is hard to do when I am all stuffed up so can't breathe out of my nose because I can't chew for long without needing to breathe.  Sneezing lots also makes it difficult because having a sneezing fit when you have a mouthful of food or liquid is not good!  I have to take little nibbles and little sips, and I tend to lose my appetite anyway when my allergies are bad.  Sleeping is hard cause all the sneezing makes it hard to fall asleep, and my nose and sinuses bother me when I'm all stuffed up and my head is lying down.  Also, a very runny nose is annoying when trying to sleep.  Reading gets hard because all my symptoms bother my ability to stay focused.  A constant drippy/runny nose is hard when leaning over reading.  Also, when my allergies are bad, my eyes are all watery and itchy and stuff so it makes it hard to actually read the words at times.  Getting intimate is hard because of the congestion/breathing and needing to sneeze when kissing, etc issues.  Shopping is hard more because of the potential of getting exposed to things I am allergic to without realizing it.  All those scented things, detergent and laundry isles, flowers and such.  Some stores I just can't go into.  For some reason all Macy's and JC Penny's I have been to really sets off my allergies and I have no idea why.  It makes no difference what part of the store I go into, or where the store is.  Shopping with Allison is a help because she usually has a great sense of smell and can sometimes be able to let me know if something is starting to be around that i will react badly too before it gets too bad.

Q: What is the worst thing people have said to you about your allergies?
A:  I don't think these are the worst, but 2 things have been on my mind lately.  The first is some variation of: "You would be gorgeous if it wasn't for your allergies".  I have been hearing that on and off for a number of years.  Often times its not right to my face (occasionally someone has said it to me, either being clueless or thinking they were being complimentary, something like 'without your allergies you can be really hot'), but I overhear it, or someone tells me they heard someone say it.  It can be upsetting because I do think that my allergies ruin how I look.  Its been on my mind because recently a guy gave me his card and said something like 'Contact me if you can get your allergies under control.  Then I think I can make you a model'.  The other one that bothers me is people telling me to blow my nose.  I get told these things so many times: "you sound like you need to blow your nose", "You should blow your nose", "If you blow your nose, it will make your allergies better", "you wouldn't sneeze so much if you blow your nose"  Then most people just don't get the idea that I can't blow my nose.  When I try to explain, I get "you must be doing it wrong", "you need to try more", or "you just don't want to blow your nose"  Its like blowing my nose would be some magical thing and I just refuse to do it.  Believe me, if I could blow my nose I would do it!

Thanks for listening to me rant again.  Please feel free to post comments, or contact me if you want to chat.  Please ask more questions so I have some Q+As to write!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Ragweed is trying to kill me :(

OMG the last few weeks have been the worst ever!  Ragweed just seemed to explode here!  I was already doing pretty badly and with my nose having become all over-sensitive to everything, its making it the worst its ever been.

I have been useless for even doing the most basic stuff and I have been having to call in sick so many days and I can barely get any work done from home.  I haven't been able to do anything enjoyable, and I am not sleeping well at all.  I am a total mess

Allison isn't doing that great either with ragweed.

Ugh, it took me forever just to write this up.  Sorry the post is so short.  As always, ask me anything you want and I'll try to reply in a new post.  I'd be happy for chat company too, if I am able to reply.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

I can do it! (kinda)

I have never really been able to hold back my sneezes before.  Yesterday I figured out how to!  I can only do it for about 10 secs though, but it might be enough to help me get away from certain situations. 

Its not totally unnoticeable however.  I discovered that if I start to hitch before starting to sneeze if I close my mouth it stops for a sec, then the hitching starts again.  I can do it again a few times before the sneeze overwhelms it.  I can usually do it for 3 times, and I was able to do it 4 times once.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Feeling miserable today

My allergies are bothering me alot today and I'm feeling kinda down.  Its annoying how my allergies make so many things more difficult, even just things like eating and drinking and sleeping.  Making things I need to do take longer is really annoying too.

I was also lamenting today that I don't really have anyone to chat with/commiserate with who also has bad allergies.  Not to say I don't love that people read and comment and stuff, but having someone to commiserate with would be nice sometimes.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

long awaited update for June

Sorry its been so long.  I just haven't been in the posting mood.  I wanted to update 2 things.

I tried the nasal filters and they were much less impressive than I had hoped.  They don't stay in the right place, I can feel them in there and they get gunked up with snot pretty quickly.  They only helped mildly anyway. I used them for about 5 days then I gave up on them.

I have been in the drug trial and will be for at least a few more weeks.  It is somewhat helpful.  Its not totally getting rid of my symptoms but its helping in some areas.  I am getting some side effects.  Nothing horrible but they can be annoying. 

I also had a wacky dream a few days ago.  It only slightly had to do with my allergies though.  I visited a friend I hadn't seen since I was a kid.  When I got there I needed to change, and when I had all my clothes off except my panties for some reason I walked with my friend though the house having a conversation.  I then realized I was mostly naked but every time I meant to go back to get clothes on, I would run into someone and start having a conversation and then partway through realize I was naked and then try to go get clothes, but then run into someone else: her family, her parents, other friends, random people, etc.  I would talk to the person, then after a bit I would get a strange look from then and then I would realize I was mostly naked.  At one point I was told I had to hold some flowers, and they started me sneezing and my nose running and I didn't have a sleeve so I kept switching between looking for tissues and getting my clothes but never doing either.  For some reason I wasn't able to put the flowers down.  After a bit of that, the dream ended.

Any ideas on what the dream might mean?  Any more questions for me so I can do a new Q+A?

Monday, May 7, 2012

Dream and nasal filters

Two posts in two days!  Crazy huh?  Anyway I had a dream last night and it got me looking for stuff online today and I wanted to see if anyone had any opinions on this too.

Last night I dreamed I was part of a superhero team.  I had to wear a face mask when we went to do superhero stuff so allergens couldn't bother my nose and interfere with out missions.  The cover story was that I was an alien and I exhale a toxin so the mask was to protect others.  This way villains wouldn't try to take it off me.  I could only ever have the mask off in one part of our base that had an airlock and was designed to be allergen-free.

The dream got me thinking about face masks.  The problem is that unless I wear one 24/7 (like I guess I did in the dream) its not going to keep my allergies away and putting a mask over an already allergic nose is not helpful and is actually annoying.  The only time I really ever use a mask is when I am doing the research assistant stuff so that I don't get anything on the experiments since I need both my hands for my work.  I have to keep going off and clean out the mask or replace it if I can't clean it out anymore.

I decided to look over allergy masks again and I found this thing called a nasal filter.  They seem really interesting but I don't know if they would work for me.  There seems to be 2 major types:

http://www.breathecleanerair.org/

and

http://www.supermasknasalfilters.com/

I would think the first type would work better, but on the 2nd type they talk about how the first type inserts fall out often, how they are more irritating, and easier to see.  I think the irritation part could be a real hassle for me and I like that the 2nd type is harder to see.

Does anyone have any experience with any kind of nasal filter or know enough about them to answer some questions that I have about them?

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Maybe a new drug, and one Q+A

My allergist recently told be about a study starting soon on a new allergy drug.  He thought that I might be a good choice for it.  I looked into it and it seems interesting but I am not sure if I should do it or not.

It supposedly might be extremely helpful to people who don't have good effects from most other allergy drugs (like myself).  I would have to go in weekly for monitoring, but that's not too much of a hassle.  The big thing I am worried about is that I might have to stop taking most of my allergy meds while I am in this study.  They don't help too much, but it still makes a difference.  Maybe I can just start and then drop if I have to, but I'd hate to do that.

Anyone have any opinions on if I should do it or not?

I also got one question I will answer:

Q:There's a theory (some scientific evidence, but not conclusive) that being infected with intestinal parasites can prevent allergies from developing, and perhaps cure them as well. Have you ever heard of this? Ever considered trying it?
A: I had heard something like that but I have no idea about any of the details.  I don't think it would something I want to do...having a parasite infection would freak me out!

Be sure to ask more questions!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Short allergy update and Q+A 4

This spring continues to be really horrible for my allergies.  Its not letting up at all!  They have really been messing with my sleep and my ability to get things done.  I did want to make a quick update here and make a quick new Q+A:

Q: Have you had any positive experiences because of your allergies? People you've met or bad situations that were made better maybe? (I always try to look for the good in bad!)
A:
The one big good thing thing that is that because of my allergies is getting to meet my best friend Jessie.  I gave the story of how I met her in one of my early posts.  Becoming friends with her is the one best thing that came from me having allergies.  I can't think of any bad situatiosn that having allergies would help though.  Do you have any examples?  In jr HS and HS I did sometimes use my allergies to get out of going to school.  When I woke up I would deliberatly expose myself to something I was alleric to without my parents knowing and then they saw my allergies being really bad and would let me stay home.  I only did that a few times though.

Q: I know in the anatomy class I took, there was a long-term lab where we dissected cats (humanely acquired, obviously). Have you ever had to deal with a lab when you're working on a subject that you are allergic to?
A: The worst was a botany class with lab in undergrad that I had to take one semester.  I tried to avoid it but it was the only class avaibale for a catagory I needed for my program.  The prof. was very understanding and would let me leave when I needed to and let me do the lab practicals at a different time from the rest of the class (I think not just for me but to not disrupt the rest of the class when they tested too) and he did give me extra time for the practicals.  I did have to make up any lab time I missed though.  I tried using a mask but putting on a mask when already dealing with allergies isn't that helpful.  Having a very runny nose and sneezing fits inside a mask is not good, believe me!  Other than that, I don't think there were too many labs I had major issues with.  Animal dissections in labs already had the skin removed so I guess that was't a problem.  One good thing is that apparently animal dissection labs smell pretty bad and I couldn't smell anything.  I think maybe in general bio we did a flower dissection and dealt with plants a few times but thats about it.

Please keep the questions (and other feedback) coming in the comments, I like doing this.  The more people who ask stuff the more often I can post.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Late for posting and Q+A 3

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. School got really busy. On top of that, this last week and a half or so my allergies have been really horrible. This is my first spring in the northeast and at least my allergies didn't start getting bad until about 3 weeks or so later than they usually do but wow it is hitting me hard now. My new girlfriend Allison is being helpful, and even though its really embarrassing for me, the fact that she has allergies too helps a bit with my embarassment.

Now some more Q+A:

Q:  Have you ever travelled or been anywhere that made your allergies better or worse?
A: Not much.  Many people say that if you move to different places your allergies will be better, but I haven't found that to be true (and my allergies tells me moving won't really help).  I have not traveled often, but everywhere I have been, I have had allergy problems.  The one place they aren't as bad is if I am out on a boat in the sea or something.  I have been on people's boats a few times.  No place to make it worse really, unless I am around alot of stuff I am allergic to.

Q: Do you think if people were more understanding generally you'd be less embarrassed about your allergies in front of people?
A: I think so.  I have had many people not be understanding at all, especially when I was younger.  Even if everyone was real understanding though I think I still would be pretty embarrassed by it all.  I would feel less embarrassed though.

Q: Do you think that it would have been easier if you had had your allergies really early on instead of them onsetting later in life when they did?
A:  I have no idea.  I would guess not though, just cause I think it would have sucked to have such bad allergies the whole time I was growing up.  At least I didn't have to deal with all that annoyance until I was about 13.  I couldn't imagine having bad allergies when I was like 4 or something, lol.

Q:  What situations do you feel your allergies have had the worst negative impact on?
A:  There are many situations they have negative impacts on, but if I had to pick the worst, I would say dating.  Meeting someone new or on a first date you want to be your best and its hard to do if you are in the middle of bad allergy attacks.  Bad allergies seem to be a big turn off for many people.  Even when dating my allergies can be too disruptive, and they can get in the way of being intimate.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

More Q+A

I liked writing in the Q+A format, so I am going to do it again.  This time I am going to answer a few questions some people have asked me before.

Q: If you could stop being allergic to one thing, what would it be?
A: Cats!  I really love cats.  It would be great if I wasn't allergic to them anymore so that I could have one or two again.  For sheer convenience it would have been pollen, but I just so would love to be able to have a cat again.

Q: If you could wish away one allergy symptom, which one would it be?
A: I have had to think about this one.  It is a toss-up between sneezing and congestion.  Sneezing is really the most embarrassing part of my allergies.  It also really interferes with stuff.  If I didn't sneeze, there would be much less disruptions, much less running off, and much easier to keep up conversations.  I think it would also be easier to get things done still when my allergies are bad.  Not having any congestion would be good in many ways though.  I would be able to smell again, I wouldn't really have to deal with sinus problems, and pressure changes wouldn't really bother me.  I know this one might sound weird as a big benefit, but without being congested, I'd be able to blow my nose.  It gets so annoying to feel like I really need to blow my nose but not be able to.  I think it would be so satisfying to be able to blow my nose anytime I needed to.  Also, without congestion, allergens might get out of my nose easier so I might even sneeze less.  Its close, but I'd probably have to go with getting rid of my congestion.

Q: If you could have one time of each day that you didn't have allergies, when would it be?
A: Bedtime.  If I could get to sleep without dealing with allergies, I'd get more sleep, I'd fall asleep much easier, I could get to sleep in any position, and I'd not have to worry about allergies possibly keeping me up most of the night.  Always having enough sleep would make life easier and probably make my allergies generally a bit less annoying.

Q: If you could make your allergies better in one situation, and have to balance it with making them worse in another, would you and what situations would they be?
A: I'd want them to be better (or gone) when I am around people, and I'd take them being worse when I am alone to balance it.  The worst part of my allergies is having them so bad when I am around others.  I'd do alot to have them not be a bother when I'm with other people.  Having them being even worse when I am alone would be pretty crazy, but I'd pay that price.


If I get more people asking me enough questions, I would be happy to make more Q+A posts like this.  I especially would use ones that more than one person asks me.  You could post them in comments or contact me directly if you prefer.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Q+A with my ENT

I have been seeing doctors for a long time.  I used to have a regular doc, an ENT, and allergist, a pulmonologist, and a gyn.  I never saw the regular doc much.  The allergist and ENT I would see often.  I also used to see the pulmonologist often for asthma, until we discovered my dairy allergy.  After I stopped dairy my asthma got much better and now as long as I avoid dairy my asthma isn't a problem.  Now I just get kinda wheezy when my allergies are bad.  The gyn I used to see more but nothing helped my cycle without messing me up in other ways so now I only see a gyn rarely for exams.

Now here in NY I am only seeing an ENT and an allergist.  I tend not to ask many questions when I have appointments.  I usually just want them to be over and I am a bit too shy and embarrassed to ask much.  Also, most visits they have students or other docs in to look at me, poke and prod, etc since I seem to be such an interesting case they want to share and that also makes me not be in the mood to ask questions.  This week however at my ENT visit this week, there was no other docs or students and I felt really at ease for some reason so i asked him questions and so I wanted to share a bit of how that went in a Q+A type format.

Q: Why is it that sometimes my allergies affect my nose more and other times my sinuses and how come unless my allergies are bad, my eyes aren't as bothered and same with my ears? 

A: Your nose and sinuses are affected more because for you, once an allergen gets in there it has a hard time getting out, partly because of your excessive congestion and sneezes that aren't very forceful.  Sometimes your sinuses are more sensitive/irritated and sometimes your nose is, and that is what leads to you feeling your allergies more in your nose or your sinuses at any given time.  For your eyes, its easier for the allergens to leave, so its often not as much of a problem.  Eyes and ears tend to get more affected when allergies are worse because nose, sinuses, ears, eyes, etc are all pretty much connected so when the mucus membranes in one area get very irritated, it tends to spread.  One reason why your eyes can tear up so much is that when your allergies are bad the tube leading from your eyes to your nose swells shut and the tears have no where to go.

Q: Why do my allergies last longer than other peoples'? 

A: A few reasons.  One is that your body creates an allergic response with histamines and other chemicals than other patients I have seen, to even a small amount of allergen, and that's also why your reactions are so intense.  Another reason is again the extreme congestion and non-forceful sneezes keeping the allergens in place longer.  Also, the simple physical irritation of the mucus membranes makes them more sensitive to repeated allergens and your gets irritated very easily.

Q: How come I don't cough much and my throat doesn't bother me that much? 

A: Usually, a runny nose tends to run forward out the nose in kids and out the back of the nose in adults.  That's why you see more snotty noses in kids, and in adults its more of a post nasal drip, which also irritates the throat more and causes coughing.  Besides the insides of your nasal passages being smaller in diameter than they should be, they are also closer in shape to a child's structure so most of the mucus comes out the front and not the back.

Q: How can my nose sometimes make so much snot?

A: The main way all mucus membranes respond to an allergen is by swelling, leaking fluid, and irritation (and yea I (Kate) understand that...I have had allergic reaction on other mucus membranes too, which is a hassle!).  A major reason you nose seems to make so much snot is just the fact that most of it comes out the front of your nose instead of going down the back.  When I look in your nose, it is hard to make out much because everything inside is so swollen and when mucus membranes are swollen up against each other it tends to cause more mucus production.  Your nose does build up some mucus, which is why when you bend forward it comes out faster.  The front areas of your nostrils are often filled up with mucus, which is why we need to clean out that area before we can look into your nose.  Your mucus membranes are often creating mucus at a very fast rate. 

I also asked him why the front areas of my nostrils were always filled up with mucus and he told me since I am not able to blow my nose and I don't squeeze or pinch my nose (cause that would send me into sneezing fits), the mucus that builds up there tends to stay there more than it otherwise would.

Those were my main questions.  I think I might have asked one or 2 more.  If I remember then I will post them. 

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Catching up in Jan

I have been settling in to the new semester pretty well.  Been busy with school and such.  Still being winter, my allergies generally haven't been as much trouble lately as they could be.

Not too much else for me to say right now.  I wanted to check in to let everyone know I am still alive :)

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Back to school and dreams

I have been back for a few days now, getting ready to go back to classes and stuff.  I am pretty much recovered from the flight so that's good.

I had a dream last night where my eyes were itchy from allergies and someone was trying to do something to relive the itchiness.  I was sitting in a chair and they were telling me not to rub my eyes and they were putting something around my eyes, or maybe drops in my eyes...I forget exactly.  But I remember that they kept getting more and more itchy and I kept saying "aren't they supposed to get less itchy?" and I was told "just give it some time and don't rub them!" each time I asked.  That's all I remember.

Dreams are interesting.  Sometimes I don't have allergies at all in them, sometimes I do but they are weird or different or only one part is there, like the eye itchiness last night.  Weird stuff.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Holidays and New Years

Still back with family in the northwest but I will be heading back east in the next few days.

Holiday time was pretty good:  x-mas with family, NYE party with friends.  I also got to see many old friends while here including Jessie so that is really cool.

Some days here my allergies haven't been too bad but other times they got very bothersome.  I discovered this year that its probably x-mas trees contributing to my allergies.  The real ones apparently are great hosts for molds and the fake ones collect lots of dust.  Then of course all the random scents and scented candles and everything else that is around.

Yesterday I partied pretty well and today I have been recovering and my allergies are bothering me.

I probably won't be posting again til at least next week when I am back at school.