I have been asked a number of times over the years what happens as a bad allergy attack comes on. I never really was able to give a good answer in the moment like that because I am not being too self-reflecting when an allergy attack comes on, and I never thought much about it except in the moment someone asks me that question and I have nothing ready to say. I figured here I can think about it and write it all out.
Often times I am experiencing allergies to one extent or another anyway but what I'm writing about is when I end up being around something that gives me bad allergy attacks, and my allergies haven't already bothering me that much.
First I start to get this tingle/tickle deep in my nose, then I start to get a tickle in the back of my throat and my nose starts getting stuffy. the tingling in my nose starts to spread and the stuffiness gets worse. My nose and my eyes start to feel not itchy exactly but like they are going to be itchy. The tingling/tickling and the stuffiness in my nose keeps getting worse and eventually I have my first sneezing fit. Once I have my first sneezing fit, its like the floodgates open. My nose starts to get runny, my sinuses start to get stuffy, my nose starts to get itchy, my eyes start to water and I have more sneezing fits. If it keeps going, it all gets more and more and my eyes will also get itchy and red and my ears might start to clog up.
Ok, I think that's a pretty good explanation of what happens. Let me know if that makes sense.
Weird Tangent: I have recently read the The Hunger Games books, and although they were really cool, I just want to mention one thing that struck me as slightly weird. In the 2nd book, at one point Katniss mentioned how she was crying and her nose was running and someone ripped some moss hanging off a tree to give her to blow her nose. I read that and thought 'ewww!' Can moss actually be used like that???
As usual, any questions for me to answer or if you want to chat, just message me.
Friday, January 11, 2013
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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