First, I wanted to say sorry I have not been online much in the last few weeks. I was a bit busy with stuff, but the main reason is that my allergies have been horrible. I haven't been able to sleep well, and I haven't been able to do much. Also, I can't believe how snotty my nose has been getting, its out of control :(. I hate being so congested and so snotty at the same time.
I wanted to post about something I found a bit weird. Now, I know there are some people who 'like' sneezing, and I do not have an issue with that. What is weird to me is that sometimes people say 'oh, you have to watch out for those people, they might harass you and be mean to you', etc. I have to say, in my online experience, they have been some of the nicest people I have had conversations with. I have no issue with what preferences people have, we are all weird in some way. As long as you don't force something onto someone else/as long as they have a choice, I have no issues with anything people 'like'.
I have to say that I have been treated pretty badly online at times by 'normal' people (actually its always been a guy). Some guys have been very rude and insulting to me: just meeting me online and making horrible assumptions or trying to order me to do stuff/tell them things, etc, and acting downright mean. I block all those people right away. I have never had a problem like that with someone who 'likes' sneezing, so I just wanted to get it out there that people in general shouldn't be pre-judged.
All that being said, I have always hopped that this blog would help me run into people who have allergies as bad as mine so that I have someone to chat to that really understands. I ran into someone once, but she didn't have much interest in chatting, she just wanted me to join her in some kind of plan she had.
I do have a few questions to answer:
Q: Have you ever been at a restaurant and when the person comes to take your order are unable to tell them what you want because of sneezing?
A: I don't think that has ever happened. If my allergies are that bad, I am probably not going to be out. I have had times where I have had to finish a sneezing fit before I could give an order.
Q: Have you ever been told you're disrupting a class with allergies?
A: so many times. It was a bigger problem in high school. In college I could sit near and exit and just leave most times I needed to. I have actually had to take some tests in a different room than the rest of the class. Besides being called disruptive, many times some students have laughed at me because of my sneezing fits, which just made t more embarrassing for me. Sometimes the whole class would be focused on my sneezing fit...ugh!
Q: Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night from sneezing and do your allergies ever wake Allison up too?
A: It happens often when my allergies are bad. I have woken her up too. When my allergies are bad, that's why I tend to try to sleep in another room so I do not disturb her too much.
Q: You've said that some people are rude or not sympathetic at all- on the other hand, are people ever too pitying? What's that like?
A: In some ways it might be worse, cause I can't be mad at them because they are trying to be nice. The worst is when they try to be helpful but make things worse. The main issue is that its much more attention than I want, and that's embarrassing.
As usual, please keep the questions coming, and feel free to IM or e-mail to say hi and chat. I could use the company when I am like this.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Monday, May 11, 2015
Dream bit and Q+A for May
Hi everyone. My allergies have been really bad lately. I have had to miss some days here and there and I am generally pretty icky and not sleeping well.
I remember part of a dream a few days ago where my allergies were acting up, and another woman in the group was complaining about her allergies, but she didn't seem to have any allergies. the more my allergies bothered me, the more she was complaining about hers.
I have a few questions to answer:
Q: How do your allergies impact your overall physical condition (beside the things having to do with allergies directly like congested nose)? You wrote that the sneezing helps to keep your abs in good shape. Are there other things about your physical condition which are affected – in a positive or negative way - by your allergies?
A: I don't know if there is much not related t my allergies -red nose, swollen eyes, etc. The things I can think of besides giving my abs a bit of a workout is being tired, being off balance sometimes, and skin rashes. Skin rashes are allergy-related but people tend not to realize it. In the warmer months they mistake it for sunburn.
Q: I know that you have to wipe your nose a lot, esp when your allergies are bad. How do you deal with this when you have to do something for which you need both your hands?
A: I put things down often, lol. I need to have a hand free pretty often, so I make sure that can happen when I need.
Q: Are your sneezes very snotty? Do you have to wipe your nose especially when you're sneezing? When you feel a sneeze coming, do you take a tissue before you actually sneeze to be „prepared“ for it?
A: Not always, but they certainly can be. I always use tissues when I am sneezing. I do tend to be snotty and I also am extra careful not to let people see my snot! I might be a bit obsessive about it, but I don't want people thinking I am gross so I am always careful in public.
Q: You told me that when your allergies aren't too bad, it can happen that you don't sneeze for about an hour. When your allergies are bad (e.g. during ragweed season), how long would you estimate the longest „non-sneezing“ time then?
A: At the most, maybe 15mins, but usually less
Q: Most of the allergy symptoms you explained are clearly recognizeable for others directly (sneezing) or almost directly (runny nose because you wipe it, congestion because your voice is stuffy). Which of the symptoms that are not recognizeable for others so easily would you consider being the most „unexpected“ ones, i.e. the symptoms which someone who doesn't have allergies himself would never guess to be caused by allergies? And which of these „not so well recognizeable“ symptoms are the most annoying for you?
A: This is pretty similar in my answer to the first question. Tiredness is probably the big one. When my allergies are bad it really wipes me out and its something that people don't really get. Another one is balance/dizziness. When my allergies are really bad my ears get all clogged up and it can sometimes make me feel dizzy and off balance. And even though much of it is noticeable, people don't realize how much my senses get impacted when my allergies are really bad - I can't smell or taste, its hard for people to understand what I am saying, seeing is sometimes difficult with swollen and very watery eyes, and clogged ears makes sound muffled.
Thanks for the questions, and keep them coming. As always I am happy to chat. Just drop a line to say hi. Allergies are really kicking my butt so I might be around online more, if its not so bad that I can't even do that!
I remember part of a dream a few days ago where my allergies were acting up, and another woman in the group was complaining about her allergies, but she didn't seem to have any allergies. the more my allergies bothered me, the more she was complaining about hers.
I have a few questions to answer:
Q: How do your allergies impact your overall physical condition (beside the things having to do with allergies directly like congested nose)? You wrote that the sneezing helps to keep your abs in good shape. Are there other things about your physical condition which are affected – in a positive or negative way - by your allergies?
A: I don't know if there is much not related t my allergies -red nose, swollen eyes, etc. The things I can think of besides giving my abs a bit of a workout is being tired, being off balance sometimes, and skin rashes. Skin rashes are allergy-related but people tend not to realize it. In the warmer months they mistake it for sunburn.
Q: I know that you have to wipe your nose a lot, esp when your allergies are bad. How do you deal with this when you have to do something for which you need both your hands?
A: I put things down often, lol. I need to have a hand free pretty often, so I make sure that can happen when I need.
Q: Are your sneezes very snotty? Do you have to wipe your nose especially when you're sneezing? When you feel a sneeze coming, do you take a tissue before you actually sneeze to be „prepared“ for it?
A: Not always, but they certainly can be. I always use tissues when I am sneezing. I do tend to be snotty and I also am extra careful not to let people see my snot! I might be a bit obsessive about it, but I don't want people thinking I am gross so I am always careful in public.
Q: You told me that when your allergies aren't too bad, it can happen that you don't sneeze for about an hour. When your allergies are bad (e.g. during ragweed season), how long would you estimate the longest „non-sneezing“ time then?
A: At the most, maybe 15mins, but usually less
Q: Most of the allergy symptoms you explained are clearly recognizeable for others directly (sneezing) or almost directly (runny nose because you wipe it, congestion because your voice is stuffy). Which of the symptoms that are not recognizeable for others so easily would you consider being the most „unexpected“ ones, i.e. the symptoms which someone who doesn't have allergies himself would never guess to be caused by allergies? And which of these „not so well recognizeable“ symptoms are the most annoying for you?
A: This is pretty similar in my answer to the first question. Tiredness is probably the big one. When my allergies are bad it really wipes me out and its something that people don't really get. Another one is balance/dizziness. When my allergies are really bad my ears get all clogged up and it can sometimes make me feel dizzy and off balance. And even though much of it is noticeable, people don't realize how much my senses get impacted when my allergies are really bad - I can't smell or taste, its hard for people to understand what I am saying, seeing is sometimes difficult with swollen and very watery eyes, and clogged ears makes sound muffled.
Thanks for the questions, and keep them coming. As always I am happy to chat. Just drop a line to say hi. Allergies are really kicking my butt so I might be around online more, if its not so bad that I can't even do that!
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Allergy update and Q+A
Ok everyone, I am back to posting. As a summary: This spring my allergies didn't start to get worse until about a week into March, usually I feel them start to get worse in late Feb. They have gotten pretty bad now as there has been lots of tree pollen around since then.
Now I have some questions to catch up on.
Q: You're talking about two kinds of congestion: nasal and sinus congestion. Which of them annoys you more, and why? And are they dependent on each other in a way that when one of them is bad, the other one is bad too?
A: They both annoy me in different ways. I'd say the nasal congestion mainly because it is worse more often. The sinus congestion can be worse though cause when it is bad it can be painful. They are kind of dependent in that if my nasal congestion is bad, chances are my sinus congestion will get bad too. I can have nasal congestion without much sinus congestion, but I never have a lot of sinus congestion without a lot of nasal congestion.
Q: How exactly can you tell from your symptoms which allergen(s) you're exposed to? Does it feel different to be exposed to dust / animal dander / pollen / etc.?
A: I often can't, but there are a few hints. When its dust, my nose and throat tends to feel more scratchy than with other things. Pollen I can mainly tell by the pollen count. I am not sure, but I think pollen might make me more snotty than other things too. For animal dander the need to sneeze between sneezes is more intense, but that can also happen when my allergies are really bad in general. When its from scents, the sneezes take a little longer to come, and the congestion feels a bit more throbby. For all the other stuff its too hard to tell.
Q: In an older post you wrote that you almost always have a need to sneeze, in shape of a tingling or tickle in your nose. I imagine that being very annoying, as your nose seemingly hardly gets some real relief – either you're actually sneezing, or you feel like needing to sneeze. How do you feel about that? Is it possible to get used to that?
A: It feels pretty annoying, lol. I never seem to get totally used to it. How much it bothers me can come and go, like sometimes I will notice it more than other times. Sometimes I can pretty much ignore it and sometimes its so distracting that I can't focus. I am not really sure what influences that though, other than how bad my allergies are.
Q: You've been asked about your worst allergy day ever. I'd like to ask for the opposite: Do you remember a day during the last years when the level of your allergies was extremely low? If yes, how did you feel that day, which symptoms did bother you to which degree?
A: It happens usually in the winter. Of course t me a very low allergy day is probably still pretty intense for many people. On my best days, my eyes don't bother me at all, there isn't any itchiness or tingling or anything. There is sneezing, but less than usual and shorter fits. No sinus congestion, my nasal congestion is there but low enough that I can sniffle/breathe through my nose a bit, and my nose is a little runny.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you, allergy-wise? Like how often do attacks occur- can you explain a typical day for you and when you are affected? How does your partner help or comfort you during those times, as well?
A: On a typical day, I get sneezing fits at least a few times an hour, sometimes more. I'm too congested to blow my nose so I am always wiping my nose with a tissue, and my allergies distract me to certain amounts, and my eyes might be bothering me being itchy wand watery and stuff. I am usually pretty self-conscious about it and worry that people might see me snotty and think I look gross being allergic or that all my sneezing is disruptive, etc.
Allison is great with helping me out. She looks out for things I am allergic to, she is good at comforting me and helping me out. She knows pretty well what I need, she has given me some ideas that help a little bit with dealing with my allergies in certain situations, and she helps me out with getting things done. She is also very patient in many ways with me and my allergies. She is very allergic to ragweed herself, so during ragweed season she is a bit pre-occupied with dealing with here allergies, so then she is a bit less helpful, but that's understandable.
Q: You mentioned a year ago being stuck outside can be really bad for you and make it hard to communicate. Can you tell us about a time/times when this has happened? What was it like for you and what did you do?
A: One of the worst times was a number of years ago I was hanging out with a few friends and my allergies started getting really bad and I had to stop and sit down and they got even worse and my friends were trying to help out and trying to figure out what might be bothering me so much, but my allergies were so bad I wasn't able to tell them that it was probably the tree we were right next to. I also was unable to really get up and walk away and between the constant sneezing and total congestion I couldn't talk. I felt very helpless and frustrated that I couldn't even let them know I had to get away and get inside.
Q: Kate, when you got your job did you have to tell them upfront about accommodations you would need due to your allergies? How was this discussed between staff and worked out?
A: Depending on how you look at it, I don't really have a 'job' I do grad work and teaching assisting and research assisting. I am bad at talking about accommodations. I usually try my best to suffer through things, and then only ask for help when I am really stuck. I have to say in general I have been pretty lucky that my professors and supervisors have all been pretty helpful and willing to modify my workload. I only have had problems with a few other grad students, one who didn't like me, and another just trying to get ahead of everyone else.
Q: You mentioned that past relationships haven't been very understanding....can you go into more detail about that?
A: Oh that can be a very long conversation! If you want more detail we can chat online sometime about it, but some relationships certainly have not been that understanding. A few just didn't care much one way or another, I have had some relationships where they thought I was making things out to be worse than they were/looking for attention, and some got really annoyed/fed up with my allergies interfering so much in the relationship. One was really bad but that one was unhealthy in general anyway. She really didn't care at all about how bad my allergies made me suffer and she was totally uninterested in being helpful, and she would guilt or force me into doing things/going places where she knew my allergies would be problematic, and then get annoyed at me for my allergies being bad.
As usual, let me know if you have more questions, and feel free to drop a line on e-mail or yahoo (or Skype or MSN messenger) to say hi and chat.
Now I have some questions to catch up on.
Q: You're talking about two kinds of congestion: nasal and sinus congestion. Which of them annoys you more, and why? And are they dependent on each other in a way that when one of them is bad, the other one is bad too?
A: They both annoy me in different ways. I'd say the nasal congestion mainly because it is worse more often. The sinus congestion can be worse though cause when it is bad it can be painful. They are kind of dependent in that if my nasal congestion is bad, chances are my sinus congestion will get bad too. I can have nasal congestion without much sinus congestion, but I never have a lot of sinus congestion without a lot of nasal congestion.
Q: How exactly can you tell from your symptoms which allergen(s) you're exposed to? Does it feel different to be exposed to dust / animal dander / pollen / etc.?
A: I often can't, but there are a few hints. When its dust, my nose and throat tends to feel more scratchy than with other things. Pollen I can mainly tell by the pollen count. I am not sure, but I think pollen might make me more snotty than other things too. For animal dander the need to sneeze between sneezes is more intense, but that can also happen when my allergies are really bad in general. When its from scents, the sneezes take a little longer to come, and the congestion feels a bit more throbby. For all the other stuff its too hard to tell.
Q: In an older post you wrote that you almost always have a need to sneeze, in shape of a tingling or tickle in your nose. I imagine that being very annoying, as your nose seemingly hardly gets some real relief – either you're actually sneezing, or you feel like needing to sneeze. How do you feel about that? Is it possible to get used to that?
A: It feels pretty annoying, lol. I never seem to get totally used to it. How much it bothers me can come and go, like sometimes I will notice it more than other times. Sometimes I can pretty much ignore it and sometimes its so distracting that I can't focus. I am not really sure what influences that though, other than how bad my allergies are.
Q: You've been asked about your worst allergy day ever. I'd like to ask for the opposite: Do you remember a day during the last years when the level of your allergies was extremely low? If yes, how did you feel that day, which symptoms did bother you to which degree?
A: It happens usually in the winter. Of course t me a very low allergy day is probably still pretty intense for many people. On my best days, my eyes don't bother me at all, there isn't any itchiness or tingling or anything. There is sneezing, but less than usual and shorter fits. No sinus congestion, my nasal congestion is there but low enough that I can sniffle/breathe through my nose a bit, and my nose is a little runny.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you, allergy-wise? Like how often do attacks occur- can you explain a typical day for you and when you are affected? How does your partner help or comfort you during those times, as well?
A: On a typical day, I get sneezing fits at least a few times an hour, sometimes more. I'm too congested to blow my nose so I am always wiping my nose with a tissue, and my allergies distract me to certain amounts, and my eyes might be bothering me being itchy wand watery and stuff. I am usually pretty self-conscious about it and worry that people might see me snotty and think I look gross being allergic or that all my sneezing is disruptive, etc.
Allison is great with helping me out. She looks out for things I am allergic to, she is good at comforting me and helping me out. She knows pretty well what I need, she has given me some ideas that help a little bit with dealing with my allergies in certain situations, and she helps me out with getting things done. She is also very patient in many ways with me and my allergies. She is very allergic to ragweed herself, so during ragweed season she is a bit pre-occupied with dealing with here allergies, so then she is a bit less helpful, but that's understandable.
Q: You mentioned a year ago being stuck outside can be really bad for you and make it hard to communicate. Can you tell us about a time/times when this has happened? What was it like for you and what did you do?
A: One of the worst times was a number of years ago I was hanging out with a few friends and my allergies started getting really bad and I had to stop and sit down and they got even worse and my friends were trying to help out and trying to figure out what might be bothering me so much, but my allergies were so bad I wasn't able to tell them that it was probably the tree we were right next to. I also was unable to really get up and walk away and between the constant sneezing and total congestion I couldn't talk. I felt very helpless and frustrated that I couldn't even let them know I had to get away and get inside.
Q: Kate, when you got your job did you have to tell them upfront about accommodations you would need due to your allergies? How was this discussed between staff and worked out?
A: Depending on how you look at it, I don't really have a 'job' I do grad work and teaching assisting and research assisting. I am bad at talking about accommodations. I usually try my best to suffer through things, and then only ask for help when I am really stuck. I have to say in general I have been pretty lucky that my professors and supervisors have all been pretty helpful and willing to modify my workload. I only have had problems with a few other grad students, one who didn't like me, and another just trying to get ahead of everyone else.
Q: You mentioned that past relationships haven't been very understanding....can you go into more detail about that?
A: Oh that can be a very long conversation! If you want more detail we can chat online sometime about it, but some relationships certainly have not been that understanding. A few just didn't care much one way or another, I have had some relationships where they thought I was making things out to be worse than they were/looking for attention, and some got really annoyed/fed up with my allergies interfering so much in the relationship. One was really bad but that one was unhealthy in general anyway. She really didn't care at all about how bad my allergies made me suffer and she was totally uninterested in being helpful, and she would guilt or force me into doing things/going places where she knew my allergies would be problematic, and then get annoyed at me for my allergies being bad.
As usual, let me know if you have more questions, and feel free to drop a line on e-mail or yahoo (or Skype or MSN messenger) to say hi and chat.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Sorry for being gone so long!
I am so sorry I have been out of contact for so long. Things started happening with school, my personal life, and my family that got all crazy and I had no time for anything else. Its all resolved now, so other than lots of schoolwork, I don't have too much to keep me away from getting back to this blog and to being online to chat with people. I might not be on often for the next few weeks, but I will be around.
Sorry again for the disappearance. I will make a short post and answer some questions later today, or tomorrow. I will also be online randomly today and tomorrow if you want to catch up and chat.
Sorry again for the disappearance. I will make a short post and answer some questions later today, or tomorrow. I will also be online randomly today and tomorrow if you want to catch up and chat.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Been Busy, Dream Bit, and Short Q+A
Things have been really busy with school and associated things. I am hoping in a few weeks things will settle down a bit. I like to get as much work don as I can when I am not feeling too bad.
I wanted to explain something that some people don't seem to get. Some people seem to not understand that I am allergic to other things besides pollen. I sometimes get asked 'Why do you still have allergies when there is no pollen?' That's because I am allergic to so much more! - dust, animals, smoke, feathers, molds, and many other things. The good thing is that many of those things I can avoid and/or get away from, so that I can recover from being exposed to it. I still have allergies this time of year, but they don't usually knock me out of commission like they often do at other times of year.
Two nights ago I had a dream where I had allergies. The only thing I can remember from it is that anytime I tried to talk I sneezed instead.
I have a few questions to answer, so here we go:
Q: When you do teach, does the sneezing make it difficult? And how do your students react? Can you go into more details about your response to the last question you answered about during class?
A: It certainly can. That's why I am lucky that I can do other things most of the time, like paperwork, making tests, grading tests, setting up labs, holding office hours, etc. I do have to do some teaching, and of course allergy attacks then can be embarrassing, but because of all the above, it doesn't happen too often. The students either giggle a bit or act bored or start looking at their phones or something til I am done. I am not sure what you mean by the last part of this question. Can you ask me a more specific question?
Q: I think it's great that you and Allison found each other and she helps you feel comfortable with her! Did you have some sort of discussion about how to work things out with your allergies, things to do or not do, expectations regarding them and intimacy, etc?
A: Yes, but it wasn't just one talk. We worked it out as time went on. It helps that she is a very understanding person, and that she also has allergies. She is very allergic to cats and ragweed, and somewhat allergic to dust, so she can understand the avoiding thing and the idea of being able to do some things and not others. She was very accommodating and very willing to work with what I needed, in general and in being intimate. Its really great because she is the first person I have dated that has really been like this. Some others made an attempt, but gave up and some others didn't even care.
That's it for now. As always, please leave comments and feel free to contact me.
I wanted to explain something that some people don't seem to get. Some people seem to not understand that I am allergic to other things besides pollen. I sometimes get asked 'Why do you still have allergies when there is no pollen?' That's because I am allergic to so much more! - dust, animals, smoke, feathers, molds, and many other things. The good thing is that many of those things I can avoid and/or get away from, so that I can recover from being exposed to it. I still have allergies this time of year, but they don't usually knock me out of commission like they often do at other times of year.
Two nights ago I had a dream where I had allergies. The only thing I can remember from it is that anytime I tried to talk I sneezed instead.
I have a few questions to answer, so here we go:
Q: When you do teach, does the sneezing make it difficult? And how do your students react? Can you go into more details about your response to the last question you answered about during class?
A: It certainly can. That's why I am lucky that I can do other things most of the time, like paperwork, making tests, grading tests, setting up labs, holding office hours, etc. I do have to do some teaching, and of course allergy attacks then can be embarrassing, but because of all the above, it doesn't happen too often. The students either giggle a bit or act bored or start looking at their phones or something til I am done. I am not sure what you mean by the last part of this question. Can you ask me a more specific question?
Q: I think it's great that you and Allison found each other and she helps you feel comfortable with her! Did you have some sort of discussion about how to work things out with your allergies, things to do or not do, expectations regarding them and intimacy, etc?
A: Yes, but it wasn't just one talk. We worked it out as time went on. It helps that she is a very understanding person, and that she also has allergies. She is very allergic to cats and ragweed, and somewhat allergic to dust, so she can understand the avoiding thing and the idea of being able to do some things and not others. She was very accommodating and very willing to work with what I needed, in general and in being intimate. Its really great because she is the first person I have dated that has really been like this. Some others made an attempt, but gave up and some others didn't even care.
That's it for now. As always, please leave comments and feel free to contact me.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Feb 1st Quick Update and Q+A
Hi guys. I do seem to be getting a bit more questions to answer, thanks! Now I wish I could come up with my own ideas of what to write too!
This time of year, my allergies aren't as bad as the rest of the year so I try to get as much work done as possible. Depending on the weather, I'll have from somewhere near the end of this month to somewhere in the middle of march before they start getting worse again. My allergies still bother me, but they are somewhat easier to deal with in the winter, especially Jan and Feb.
Now for our Q+A:
Q: You said that sleeping is a problem for you when your allergies are bad. If you could get rid of one allergy symptom during bedtime, which one would you prefer to get rid of?
A: That's a hard choice between sneezing and congestion. When my allergies are bad, sneezing so often makes it hard to have enough time to get to sleep. Overall I'd have to say congestions though. Even when my allergies aren't that bad, the congestion is still there, making it a bit uncomfortable to sleep.
Q: I learned from your posts that five of your senses are more or less impacted by your allergies: seeing (watery eyes), hearing (stuffed ears), smelling (congested nose), tasting (going along with smelling) and the sense of balance (dizziness from clogged ears or sinus congestion). Which sense would you consider being impacted the most (well, I'd guess it's the smelling), and which one comes second, third, fourth, fifth?
A: Smelling of course is first, as its not often that I am able to smell anything at all. Taste would be second because it is so dependent upon smell to work properly. Seeing would be third. Its a big jump down though, as its only really impacted when my allergies are acting up enough to make my eyes so watery that it makes my vision a bit blurry. Of course sometimes I wake up with my eyelids crusted up together and I can't see, but that's because I can't open my eyelids. I try not to rub my eyes much, but if I rub them a lot, they might swell up too much and make it hard to see. Dizziness would be the next one, as my sinus congestion has to be pretty bad for me to feel it as dizziness(unless I move my head really fast), and my ears only get clogged and make me dizzy when things are really bad. last would be hearing, as my allergies have to be really bad for my ears to feel clogged. Its not like I am deaf, but it is like I have cotton stuffed in my ears.
Q: How do you deal with your sneezing when you have your hair cut at the hairdresser, esp when your allergies are bad? Does the hairdresser have to interrupt his work every time you sneeze?
A: I can't really go to a hairdresser, as some of the chemicals and compounds, and hair products there I am allergic to. I'll try to get friends to cut my hair, or find a place that doesn't use many chemicals, etc. If I am having a sneezing fit, yea there needs to be a break in the work til I am done.
Q: Do you like to dance, in the disco or at parties? If yes, how much do your allergies affect your joy of dancing?
A: I am an ok dancer, but it has never been something that excites me too much. Allergies don't seem to impact my dancing at parties any more than they impact everything else.
Q: I've read that it's possible to improve allergies, esp hay fever, by avoiding certain kinds of food, e.g. those with protein. Did you try things like this, and if yes, was it successful?
A: I have tried all kinds of things, and foods seem to have no impact at all on my allergies. Alcohol sometimes seems to make my allergies worse though.
Q: A woman suffering from hay fever told me that autohemotherapy helped her. Did you try this?
A: I never heard of it. What is it? Does it go by another name?
Q: In 2010 you posted comprehensive lists of what you're allergic to and what symptoms you get. Are these lists still „valid“, or has something changed since then?
A: Without going back to look, I am pretty sure they are the same. If anything I might have discovered one or 2 more things, as I seem to be allergic to almost everything.
Q: You said that if you could get rid of one allergy symptome, it would be the sneezing because it affects your social life and your acitivies most. If you leave aside these aspects and just consider the symptoms as such, the physical pain they bring when you're alone and not doing something specific, which one would you choose then?
A: It would make it a closer choice between sneezing and congestion. With those limitations, I can't really choose between the 2.
Q: A question about the questions: It seems to me that you really like to answer all these questions. Can you explain what it is that makes you enjoy this so much?
A: "enjoy" is too strong a word. Having questions to answer actually gives me something to write about. I want to keep doing this blog, but I have huge blocks on what to write about. Questions gives me things to write about.
Q: What do you do or say when you are meeting people for the first time or over the phone and your allergies act up?
A: Over the phone I just say 'hold on a min' and I mute the phone and get through the allergy fit. In person, if I can, I'll say 'ill be back in a min' or 'I need to use the bathroom' or something. If I am stuck there, I won't say anything, hoping the person also wont say anything.
Q: What do you do for work and have your allergies affected you there, or how people respond to you?
A: I do TAing and assist with research (I am a grad student). Luckily when my allergies get bad, the TAing can be modified so I don't have to do much actual teaching, I'll do prep and all the paperwork and such. For the research, sometimes I have to just not do the work for a while. Most people haven't responded that badly, although it sometimes takes some accommodations, make-up stuff, and a few times I just have to do what I can. There was another research assistant that didn't like me (he was too competitive and jealous of what I was doing I think), and kept making fun of my allergies and tried to use the impact of my allergies as an excuse to get me kicked out.
Q: Do you seem to get them(colds) frequently? I know that for some allergy sufferers, they find they seem to be more susceptible to colds too.
A: I only get a couple a year. Not more often than anyone else I think.
Q: I know you've talked the past a bit about school and how sometimes you have to miss class because of your allergies. But when you do stay in the classroom and have to suffer through an attack, how do the professors and other students react? Are they generally understanding? Do they just ignore it or make comments? I know you've also said you try to escape to the restroom when it gets bad, but that can't be every time you have a bit of sneezing fit??
A: I feel like this needs more of an answer than I can write down real quick here, but in general, the reactions can be all over the place. Usually the professor will ignore it, and a few students might laugh or say something silly.
Thanks for all the questions. let me know if anything wasn't clear or if you need more info. As always, feel free to post more questions, or contact me directly.
And enjoy the superbowl!
This time of year, my allergies aren't as bad as the rest of the year so I try to get as much work done as possible. Depending on the weather, I'll have from somewhere near the end of this month to somewhere in the middle of march before they start getting worse again. My allergies still bother me, but they are somewhat easier to deal with in the winter, especially Jan and Feb.
Now for our Q+A:
Q: You said that sleeping is a problem for you when your allergies are bad. If you could get rid of one allergy symptom during bedtime, which one would you prefer to get rid of?
A: That's a hard choice between sneezing and congestion. When my allergies are bad, sneezing so often makes it hard to have enough time to get to sleep. Overall I'd have to say congestions though. Even when my allergies aren't that bad, the congestion is still there, making it a bit uncomfortable to sleep.
Q: I learned from your posts that five of your senses are more or less impacted by your allergies: seeing (watery eyes), hearing (stuffed ears), smelling (congested nose), tasting (going along with smelling) and the sense of balance (dizziness from clogged ears or sinus congestion). Which sense would you consider being impacted the most (well, I'd guess it's the smelling), and which one comes second, third, fourth, fifth?
A: Smelling of course is first, as its not often that I am able to smell anything at all. Taste would be second because it is so dependent upon smell to work properly. Seeing would be third. Its a big jump down though, as its only really impacted when my allergies are acting up enough to make my eyes so watery that it makes my vision a bit blurry. Of course sometimes I wake up with my eyelids crusted up together and I can't see, but that's because I can't open my eyelids. I try not to rub my eyes much, but if I rub them a lot, they might swell up too much and make it hard to see. Dizziness would be the next one, as my sinus congestion has to be pretty bad for me to feel it as dizziness(unless I move my head really fast), and my ears only get clogged and make me dizzy when things are really bad. last would be hearing, as my allergies have to be really bad for my ears to feel clogged. Its not like I am deaf, but it is like I have cotton stuffed in my ears.
Q: How do you deal with your sneezing when you have your hair cut at the hairdresser, esp when your allergies are bad? Does the hairdresser have to interrupt his work every time you sneeze?
A: I can't really go to a hairdresser, as some of the chemicals and compounds, and hair products there I am allergic to. I'll try to get friends to cut my hair, or find a place that doesn't use many chemicals, etc. If I am having a sneezing fit, yea there needs to be a break in the work til I am done.
Q: Do you like to dance, in the disco or at parties? If yes, how much do your allergies affect your joy of dancing?
A: I am an ok dancer, but it has never been something that excites me too much. Allergies don't seem to impact my dancing at parties any more than they impact everything else.
Q: I've read that it's possible to improve allergies, esp hay fever, by avoiding certain kinds of food, e.g. those with protein. Did you try things like this, and if yes, was it successful?
A: I have tried all kinds of things, and foods seem to have no impact at all on my allergies. Alcohol sometimes seems to make my allergies worse though.
Q: A woman suffering from hay fever told me that autohemotherapy helped her. Did you try this?
A: I never heard of it. What is it? Does it go by another name?
Q: In 2010 you posted comprehensive lists of what you're allergic to and what symptoms you get. Are these lists still „valid“, or has something changed since then?
A: Without going back to look, I am pretty sure they are the same. If anything I might have discovered one or 2 more things, as I seem to be allergic to almost everything.
Q: You said that if you could get rid of one allergy symptome, it would be the sneezing because it affects your social life and your acitivies most. If you leave aside these aspects and just consider the symptoms as such, the physical pain they bring when you're alone and not doing something specific, which one would you choose then?
A: It would make it a closer choice between sneezing and congestion. With those limitations, I can't really choose between the 2.
Q: A question about the questions: It seems to me that you really like to answer all these questions. Can you explain what it is that makes you enjoy this so much?
A: "enjoy" is too strong a word. Having questions to answer actually gives me something to write about. I want to keep doing this blog, but I have huge blocks on what to write about. Questions gives me things to write about.
Q: What do you do or say when you are meeting people for the first time or over the phone and your allergies act up?
A: Over the phone I just say 'hold on a min' and I mute the phone and get through the allergy fit. In person, if I can, I'll say 'ill be back in a min' or 'I need to use the bathroom' or something. If I am stuck there, I won't say anything, hoping the person also wont say anything.
Q: What do you do for work and have your allergies affected you there, or how people respond to you?
A: I do TAing and assist with research (I am a grad student). Luckily when my allergies get bad, the TAing can be modified so I don't have to do much actual teaching, I'll do prep and all the paperwork and such. For the research, sometimes I have to just not do the work for a while. Most people haven't responded that badly, although it sometimes takes some accommodations, make-up stuff, and a few times I just have to do what I can. There was another research assistant that didn't like me (he was too competitive and jealous of what I was doing I think), and kept making fun of my allergies and tried to use the impact of my allergies as an excuse to get me kicked out.
Q: Do you seem to get them(colds) frequently? I know that for some allergy sufferers, they find they seem to be more susceptible to colds too.
A: I only get a couple a year. Not more often than anyone else I think.
Q: I know you've talked the past a bit about school and how sometimes you have to miss class because of your allergies. But when you do stay in the classroom and have to suffer through an attack, how do the professors and other students react? Are they generally understanding? Do they just ignore it or make comments? I know you've also said you try to escape to the restroom when it gets bad, but that can't be every time you have a bit of sneezing fit??
A: I feel like this needs more of an answer than I can write down real quick here, but in general, the reactions can be all over the place. Usually the professor will ignore it, and a few students might laugh or say something silly.
Thanks for all the questions. let me know if anything wasn't clear or if you need more info. As always, feel free to post more questions, or contact me directly.
And enjoy the superbowl!
Thursday, January 15, 2015
A New Year and a New Q+A
Hi everyone. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays.
As I mentioned in my quick note, I was planning on making a post, but I was sick with a bad cold all last week, so that really sucked. This week I have been busy with the start of the semester. Of course once I post that I probably won't have time to post, I find some time to post!
I did have a dream involving my allergies a few weeks ago, but I can't remember it now. Something about my allergies being bad but people were all wanting to look closely at my nose.
I do have many questions now to answer. Its only about 5 or 6 people, but one person had many questions.
Q: Have you ever considered moving to live somewhere where the winters are longer/the pollen season is shorter, or to somewhere with less allergenic plant life? Living by the sea is also supposed to be better for people with hayfever, I believe. I realize that moving isn't something that's easily done, but if it was a possibility for you, do you think it would be worth trying?
A: I have thought about it and looked into it years ago, but it doesn't help. It might help for a short time, but the allergies come back. Also, moving from the northwest to the northeast didn't make any difference for me.
Q: How does your family do in terms of your allergies? Are they accommodating or do they inadvertently do things that set them off sometimes?
A: They are good about it. back when I first got allergies, they were better about it than I was. Back then I never avoided anything because I hoped I would get over them or fight through them. They are also pretty good now at ignoring my sneezing fits and other allergy stuff, which is good.
Q: At this time are you still seeing an allergist? If so how are they trying to treat or help you and is it working?
A: Yes. Been seeing allergists since I got allergies. They are always amazed at how bad my allergies are. I am on a number of different things, but they don't help much. We occasionally switch things to see if something will help more.
Q: So, how many sneezing fits did you have on the plane?
A: I didn't keep count, but certainly more than one. They are very annoying on the plane too. All the pressure in my sinuses and ears makes the sneezes a bit painful at times. It also makes it feel like I can't sneeze but will sneeze at the same time.
Q: You mentioned in some earlier posts that you can't blow your nose, and it got me to thinking (and this is merely a suggestion): I work at a preschool, and since babies/toddlers often can't blow their nose, we use a bulb syringe or some other suction device to literally suck the snot out. I was wondering, would suction work for you?
A: There are versions of those thing adults can use and I have tried them. I find them a bit of a hassle to use, and they don't seem to work that well. I am not sure if its just me, or them in general.
Q: You said that generally you cannot blow your nose because it's so congested. When there are days on which you can blow your nose, how often do you blow it? And are you sniffling then?
A: Days when I can blow my nose are pretty rare, but the days I can, my allergies aren't bad enough for me to need to blow constantly. Maybe a few times a day, as I do find it kind of annoying to my nose even then. If it didn't annoy my nose, I'd probably do it a lot more often. I do try to sniffle a lot on those days, but I'd need to sniffle really hard to have much of an effect, and I don't want to be that loud so I will sniffle softly for a while, it won't do much, so I'll give up.
Q: When your allergies are bad, how much tissues do you spend a day for wiping your nose? You wrote that sometimes you carry a whole box with you, how many tissues are contained in such a box?
A: I never kept track, but I can easily go through a big box on those days. A bit over 200 in the big boxes that I get.
Q: You wrote that you sang in a choir before your allergies got worse. Do or did you play a musical instrument? Is it / would it be possible for you to play a musical instrument in a useful way concerning all your allergy hassles, especially the constant szeening and nose wiping?
A: I never had much of an interest in musical instruments. I haven't tried any other. If I did try, I'd think something that I didn't have to blow into would be easier for me to play.
Q: You wrote that sometimes you don't drive because of your allergies. What about riding a bicycle? Are there days on which biking is impossible for you too?
A: Its the same kind of thing, although in some ways biking is better cause its easier to start and stop and its at much lower speeds. It can be worse though in that I am more directly exposed to pollen and stuff on a bike.
Q: Do you do some sports, i.e. jogging or running? If yes, how easy or difficult is this concerning your allergies?
A: The ones I like the best are soccer, volleyball, and swimming. I had to give up competing in them because my allergies got too bad, especially with soccer. I still play volleyball for fun when I can, and I swim a bit, but at pools the chlorine bothers me, and when I am underwater I feel the pressure in my head.
Sorry if the answers are kinda short. I guess with so many I might have made my answers quick. Let me know if you want expansion or clarification on anything.
I do have a request: If you make replies to my blog posts, can you log-in (if you have an account)? Almost everything is from 'anonymous', so I have no idea how many people are communicating.
As usual, please make comments and feel free to contact me and say hi. I always need ideas!
As I mentioned in my quick note, I was planning on making a post, but I was sick with a bad cold all last week, so that really sucked. This week I have been busy with the start of the semester. Of course once I post that I probably won't have time to post, I find some time to post!
I did have a dream involving my allergies a few weeks ago, but I can't remember it now. Something about my allergies being bad but people were all wanting to look closely at my nose.
I do have many questions now to answer. Its only about 5 or 6 people, but one person had many questions.
Q: Have you ever considered moving to live somewhere where the winters are longer/the pollen season is shorter, or to somewhere with less allergenic plant life? Living by the sea is also supposed to be better for people with hayfever, I believe. I realize that moving isn't something that's easily done, but if it was a possibility for you, do you think it would be worth trying?
A: I have thought about it and looked into it years ago, but it doesn't help. It might help for a short time, but the allergies come back. Also, moving from the northwest to the northeast didn't make any difference for me.
Q: How does your family do in terms of your allergies? Are they accommodating or do they inadvertently do things that set them off sometimes?
A: They are good about it. back when I first got allergies, they were better about it than I was. Back then I never avoided anything because I hoped I would get over them or fight through them. They are also pretty good now at ignoring my sneezing fits and other allergy stuff, which is good.
Q: At this time are you still seeing an allergist? If so how are they trying to treat or help you and is it working?
A: Yes. Been seeing allergists since I got allergies. They are always amazed at how bad my allergies are. I am on a number of different things, but they don't help much. We occasionally switch things to see if something will help more.
Q: So, how many sneezing fits did you have on the plane?
A: I didn't keep count, but certainly more than one. They are very annoying on the plane too. All the pressure in my sinuses and ears makes the sneezes a bit painful at times. It also makes it feel like I can't sneeze but will sneeze at the same time.
Q: You mentioned in some earlier posts that you can't blow your nose, and it got me to thinking (and this is merely a suggestion): I work at a preschool, and since babies/toddlers often can't blow their nose, we use a bulb syringe or some other suction device to literally suck the snot out. I was wondering, would suction work for you?
A: There are versions of those thing adults can use and I have tried them. I find them a bit of a hassle to use, and they don't seem to work that well. I am not sure if its just me, or them in general.
Q: You said that generally you cannot blow your nose because it's so congested. When there are days on which you can blow your nose, how often do you blow it? And are you sniffling then?
A: Days when I can blow my nose are pretty rare, but the days I can, my allergies aren't bad enough for me to need to blow constantly. Maybe a few times a day, as I do find it kind of annoying to my nose even then. If it didn't annoy my nose, I'd probably do it a lot more often. I do try to sniffle a lot on those days, but I'd need to sniffle really hard to have much of an effect, and I don't want to be that loud so I will sniffle softly for a while, it won't do much, so I'll give up.
Q: When your allergies are bad, how much tissues do you spend a day for wiping your nose? You wrote that sometimes you carry a whole box with you, how many tissues are contained in such a box?
A: I never kept track, but I can easily go through a big box on those days. A bit over 200 in the big boxes that I get.
Q: You wrote that you sang in a choir before your allergies got worse. Do or did you play a musical instrument? Is it / would it be possible for you to play a musical instrument in a useful way concerning all your allergy hassles, especially the constant szeening and nose wiping?
A: I never had much of an interest in musical instruments. I haven't tried any other. If I did try, I'd think something that I didn't have to blow into would be easier for me to play.
Q: You wrote that sometimes you don't drive because of your allergies. What about riding a bicycle? Are there days on which biking is impossible for you too?
A: Its the same kind of thing, although in some ways biking is better cause its easier to start and stop and its at much lower speeds. It can be worse though in that I am more directly exposed to pollen and stuff on a bike.
Q: Do you do some sports, i.e. jogging or running? If yes, how easy or difficult is this concerning your allergies?
A: The ones I like the best are soccer, volleyball, and swimming. I had to give up competing in them because my allergies got too bad, especially with soccer. I still play volleyball for fun when I can, and I swim a bit, but at pools the chlorine bothers me, and when I am underwater I feel the pressure in my head.
Sorry if the answers are kinda short. I guess with so many I might have made my answers quick. Let me know if you want expansion or clarification on anything.
I do have a request: If you make replies to my blog posts, can you log-in (if you have an account)? Almost everything is from 'anonymous', so I have no idea how many people are communicating.
As usual, please make comments and feel free to contact me and say hi. I always need ideas!
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