I am sorry I have been so bad again at posting to my blog again. Life gets busy and motivation gets low.
Tree pollen season has started, so my allergies have been starting to get worse. Although the snowstorms have helped dip the pollen levels. I just saw the following article. I guess its not in my head that my allergies have been feeling worse each year:
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/3/14/17109336/allergies-climate-change-pollen
I had an allergy related dream a few weeks ago. I just remember that my nose was running literally non-stop, and I had no tissues or anything to deal with it. As people came by, they would pinch my nose closed and the runniness would stop, and then start back up again after they left. If I tried to pinch my own nose it wouldn't work and I would have a sneezing fit. Kinda weird, and its the only part i can remember.
I have a bit of Q+A:
Q: How many times do you sneeze in a row?
A: Depends on the time of year. On average, less than 10 in the winter, can be over 20 at the height of allergy season. That's average. there is the rare occasion i will only sneeze a few times, and occasionally I sneeze non-stop for a long time, so now way to keep track of how many they are.
Q: Does sneezing relieve pressure and make you feel better or make you feel worse?
A: It doesn't make me really feel any better, but it doesn't make me feel worse. Mostly seems like it has no impact on how I feel, other than tiring me out and embarrassing me.
Q: Are allergies frustrating for you or are you used to them?
A: Both. I am used to having them, but they are still very frustrating and I am used to having the frustration.
Q: Is it ever hard for you to fall asleep due to sneezing or allergies?
A: Plenty of times. Sometimes during allergy season I will get very little sleep or even no sleep at night for days and will end up dozing off for a few mins randomly throughout the days.
Q: Do you ever stifle?
A: Not usually. For some reason its hard for me to do. When i can do it, it hurt my sinuses and usually ends up making me sneeze more in the end.
As always, feel free to contact me to chat. sneezykate@hotmail.com for skype or e-mail is always best.
Showing posts with label pollen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pollen. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Too long without posting
I feel so bad that its been over a month since my last post. Sorry everyone! I have been so busy trying to get work done, and being wiped out from my allergies that every time I go to blog I think 'ugh, I can't do this now, maybe tomorrow'. Today I am making it happen though!
I can't think of too much I can bring up right now, because of the above, so right to a few Q+A that have been sitting around:
Q:Do you find that when you are very congested because of your allergies, like when one has a cold you lose your sense of taste? I know it must be really difficult to eat and drink when you are having sneezing fits and are really congested, but even when you can, can you taste food or is it a bit like a cold when it's just sustenance?
A: I have nasal congestion most of the time, so I often don't really have a sense of smell, and that of course impacts my ability to taste. I usually don't taste too much when I eat food when I am congested like that. And yes, with lots of sneezing and congestion, it is hard to eat and drink. I will tend to mainly sip water often when I am like that.
Q:How are things going for you? The pollen counts are at severe here where I am and I've DEFINITELY noticed. I can only imagine you're not doing too great <3 Hope you are getting SOME relief anyway!
A: (ok, maybe not really a question that needs answering here, but I need something to write about!). Yea, its been pretty bad for me so far, and not much relief. The most annoying part is that the more I am exposed to pollen (or anything else I am allergic to), the more sensitive my nose gets and the more I react to things.
Q:You mentioned at worst you sneezed a "few thousand" times a day??? I mean, assuming 16 hours of being awake, 2000 sneezes means an average of over 2 sneezes a minute, all day long??? How are these spaced out? I mean, how many sneezes in a "long fit", and how long does that take?
A: Yes, its pretty crazy isn't it? I almost always sneeze in long fits, almost never less than around 10, and not usually more than around 30, although there have been a few times where I just couldn't stop sneezing for a long time, gets really exhausting and kinda freaky. I never really broke down the timing of it all, but lets say an average of a 20 sneeze fit, and it takes maybe a minute or less usually? My sneezes often come very quickly after each other, although occasionally there are gaps and time for the sneezes to come.
I hope I answered all the questions well. Please keep them coming because I am having a hard time thinking about what to write. I am going to keep making the effort to post about weekly. Feel free to comment or contact me directly!
I can't think of too much I can bring up right now, because of the above, so right to a few Q+A that have been sitting around:
Q:Do you find that when you are very congested because of your allergies, like when one has a cold you lose your sense of taste? I know it must be really difficult to eat and drink when you are having sneezing fits and are really congested, but even when you can, can you taste food or is it a bit like a cold when it's just sustenance?
A: I have nasal congestion most of the time, so I often don't really have a sense of smell, and that of course impacts my ability to taste. I usually don't taste too much when I eat food when I am congested like that. And yes, with lots of sneezing and congestion, it is hard to eat and drink. I will tend to mainly sip water often when I am like that.
Q:How are things going for you? The pollen counts are at severe here where I am and I've DEFINITELY noticed. I can only imagine you're not doing too great <3 Hope you are getting SOME relief anyway!
A: (ok, maybe not really a question that needs answering here, but I need something to write about!). Yea, its been pretty bad for me so far, and not much relief. The most annoying part is that the more I am exposed to pollen (or anything else I am allergic to), the more sensitive my nose gets and the more I react to things.
Q:You mentioned at worst you sneezed a "few thousand" times a day??? I mean, assuming 16 hours of being awake, 2000 sneezes means an average of over 2 sneezes a minute, all day long??? How are these spaced out? I mean, how many sneezes in a "long fit", and how long does that take?
A: Yes, its pretty crazy isn't it? I almost always sneeze in long fits, almost never less than around 10, and not usually more than around 30, although there have been a few times where I just couldn't stop sneezing for a long time, gets really exhausting and kinda freaky. I never really broke down the timing of it all, but lets say an average of a 20 sneeze fit, and it takes maybe a minute or less usually? My sneezes often come very quickly after each other, although occasionally there are gaps and time for the sneezes to come.
I hope I answered all the questions well. Please keep them coming because I am having a hard time thinking about what to write. I am going to keep making the effort to post about weekly. Feel free to comment or contact me directly!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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