Arg! Late Summer/Eary Fall Allergies!!!

[Will]

I love my house. I've got a nice garage, a courtyard, a big window... the works. I remember when I was first deciding where to live, I looked around during the spring so I could test out the local pollens. I didn't sneeze even once! Then fall came around, and the two majestic, ancient Chinese elms (Ulmus parvifolia) in the front yard bloomed and unloaded 300 metric tons of pollen onto my property. And it turns out I'm allergic to Chinese elms.

Each year, right after my birthday, the thing begins it's new cycle of blooming and releasing what I generally describe as "brown crap" which liberally coats my property and the property of my apparently forgiving neighbors, and each year I augment my own system of fighting back.

The first year, I simply took Benadryl every day. Big mistake. Benadryl, a.k.a. diphenhydramine hydrochloride, isn't just an antihistamine, it's also a sedative (and hypnotic, actually). Most people that take Benadryl generally are drowsy for several hours after ingesting it, but it turns out I'm particularly susceptible to the sedative function of the chemical. After taking one little pink pill, I can barely drive a car. This translated to rather sloppy work for the first few weeks of Chinese elm pollen season, and a very curious episode of being accidentally raped by my then-girlfriend (I'll tell you about it when you're older).

The second year, I was resolved to reduce my intake of Benadryl and supplement it with other treatments. I picked up some prescription nasal spray and some eye drops, and reduced my Benadryl intake to half a pill in the morning and half a pill before bed. The drowsiness wasn't as bad, but the nasal spray actually made me sneeze more (it smells like roses) and the eye drops didn't do anything but give me especially white choroids.

The third year, I dropped Benadryl completely, and switched to a non-drowsy option, Allegra, and started using eye drops specifically made for allergies (Visine-A). Success! I'd finally found a reliable, non-drowsy option for blocking histamines! Only after about 4 weeks of use, the effectiveness started wearing off. Apparently, my crafty immune system had managed to find a way to get the histamines to the receptors faster or more effectively than the blockers... I'd become immune to Allegra. I swtiched to Claritin to no effect. I'm immune to non-drowsy antihistamines.

Year four is what I like to call the year of the filters. I went out and bought an industrial grade air filter, the kind that fits over your face and reminds everyone of Darth Vader, and I bought an Ionic Breeze for my bedroom. While it worked, it also meant looking like Darth Vader going out to my car every morning for work, not to mention that the straps would leave indentations on my face that would take a good 30 minutes to go away. I got some very odd theories in the form of innocent questions about my face marks.

Year five, last year, I ran the gambit. I took my half Benadryl, I filtered the air in the house, I sprayed my nose, I dropped my eyes, I routinely washed off the concrete in the front yard and courtyard, but it was incredibly tiresome.

This year I've discovered something entirely new: salt. I found something called a Neti Pot, which is like a little watering can that you fill with cool saltwater and use to irrigate your nose and sinuses. Holy crap, I can breathe! I started gargling with saltwater, too, and holy crap I'm not coughing! I was so excited I went and made a blog about allergies just to help other people.

Anyway, what are your allergy escapades?

[Whitney]

After 6 years of that....I would have chopped the tree down.

My only interesting allergy story is from working at Walmart in college.  I was working in the fitting room which is in the lingerie section.  This was during the holidays and when they start selling those skimpy santa lingerie things...you know, with the fluffy 'feathers' and lots of red netting/lace.  Anyway, I had to constantly pick them up off the ground from all the stupid college girls going through them to find their size then dropping what they didn't want on the floor for others to pick up.  Well, turns out I was severely allergic to them (I assume it was them because I hadn't touched anything else new) and broke out in hives while at work.  The campus doctors were closed that day (it was a weekend) and the town didn't have a walk in "doc in the box."  It wasn't so bad that I needed to go to the emergency room, so we drove an hour to Oklahoma City so I could see the doctor.  By the time we get into town I was starting to swell up in addition to the hives (ya, I probably should have gone to the ER but we were well on our way before any swelling occurred).  I get into the walk in clinic and go in the bathroom to use soap to remove my rings because they were stuck and feeling tight.  I go in get a cortisone shot and then walk out into the reception area, ask the receptionist nurse if you can have an adverse reaction to the shot, and pass out.  I wake up to the doctor hovering over me asking me why I didn't tell her I was prone to passing out...I had never passed out from a shot before.  After that it still took over 3 days for the hives to go away enough for me to leave the house because I basically had to take an oatmeal bath every hour to not wish I was dead because it itched so badly.

So now, if I even think I'm getting hives I take a benedryl.  But, benedryl makes me want to fall asleep so that is really annoying.  I also had to switch to dye free laundry detergent (and no colorful sheets unless they had been washed 50 times, found that out the hard way) because after that first hives outbreak it was easily set off.

[skurry]

Claritan is a "god-send" (lol) for me. I don't have seasonal allergies though. I'm allergic to dogs and cats. Although, my Boston Terrier only makes me break out or sneeze if we are wrestling for a long time, I think its the saliva (gross). Cats make me swell up and I cant breathe or see, probably could kill me if I was trapped in a room with several. I lived with this gal for a year or so who had two cats that slept in our bed and Claritan worked perfectly. It is one of the few drugs that hasn't given me side effects. Even though we don't have cats, I always keep some in the car and in my wife's purse just in case.

[Whitney]

Claritin D gave me the side effect of not wanting to eat and after taking it for a week I started having dizzy spells and then almost passed out.  I wanted to keep taking it because I lost weight while on it but I couldn't live with the dizzy side effects.

[AlP]

I think Whitney is on the right track here. Why not replace the Chinese Elms with something you're not allergic to? Stripper poles for example?

[Heretical Rants]

I've had a neti pot for a few years now.

It's good for washing out bits of fluff from cottonwood trees.

[McQ]

Bummer of these allergy problems. First step is avoidance, which is sometimes impossible. One thing that is very important is to get ahead of the allergic reaction before it starts. That means taking antihistamines and or steroid nasal sprays prior to the onset of symptoms. Once you've begun to exhibit symptoms, you're pretty much fighting a losing battle.

Immune therapy (injections) are a proven method for dealing with certain allergens but it can be costly and can take a few years to be effective. Nice thing is though, when you're finished with them, you are good to go. No more antihistamines needed.

I used to work for the company that made Allegra and Seldane (Seldane was the first non-drowsy antihistamine). In the Army, Seldane was the only antihistamine I was allowed to use and still stay on flight status. Saved my ass from wicked allergies and a lot of down-time from flying. Can't very well be a pilot by sitting on the ground! LOL!

Good luck with the allergy problems, Will and Whitney. Saline drops work very well in many people, so I hope they keep you going.

[skurry]

Immune therapy (injections) are a proven method for dealing with certain allergens but it can be costly and can take a few years to be effective. Nice thing is though, when you're finished with them, you are good to go. No more antihistamines needed.

My doc wouldn't let me do the injections! I worked in an animal hospital for a year for volunteer work (had to do it for Catholic Confirmation , I'm a nut for animals.) He said they don't do that anymore because over the counter medication was more effective.... perhaps the drug companies got to him.  

[Ninteen45]

I feel your pain. I live in a street with many dogs, and they "go" in a huge garden neaby my flat. Mushrooms are sprouting in the summer and I think I am allergic to them...

[curiosityandthecat]

I used to have terrible allergies in the spring and the fall. It was great, lemmetellya. Right when school would start in August/September, when I'd be surrounded by all the new faces (and bods   ) I've got crap streaming out of every hole in my face. Same thing, when spring rolls around and the weather is getting nice, it'd all start again. Strangely, after I got into my twenties, it just... went away. Now I don't take anything. I'll occasionally get a lil' tickle in my throat when the pollen is unusually bad (like this year), but aside from that, nothing.

My wife, on the otherhand, had never had seasonal allergies in Taiwan. She came here, and over the past couple years became allergic. It took two or three years for it to happen, and she's been sneezing and snotting like mad ever since. I've had her on Allegra, Zyrtec, Benadryl, just about anything you can think of. Nothing really seems to help, except for insane amounts of dusting in the house. That seems to be what sets her off most. Oh, but we hardwood floors. Not a stitch of carpet in the entire place, save a couple area rugs in the living and dining rooms. So, as you can imagine, dusting this house is a major task. I do use an allergy-battling Pledge or Endust or something, though. It seems to help.

[joeactor]

Hey Will,

I'm with you.  I had terrible sinus problems when I lived in Ohio.  Texas brought on a different set, and California was another.

The neti pot is a good idea, but I'll do you one better: Nielmed.

Instead of a teapot type device, it's a squeeze bottle.
Very easy.  One salt packet, 8oz of warm water.  Gently squeeze up one nostril and out the other, repeat on the other side.

I use it daily, and even when I have issues they are greatly lessened.
As a voice actor, this is a godsend (forgive the French!)

Plus, if you're a penny pincher like me, you can even make your own salt solution.
1 part kosher salt + 1 part baking soda (by volume).  Use 1/2 teaspoon per 8oz water.

Cheap and Cheerful,
JoeActor

[Heretical Rants]

Instead of a teapot type device, it's a squeeze bottle.

Why exactly is that better?

[joeactor]

Instead of a teapot type device, it's a squeeze bottle.

Why exactly is that better?

2 main reasons:

1) you don't have to tip your head at uncomfortable angles to get the water to run through.
2) although you're not supposed to squeeze hard, a gentle pressure sometimes helps clear more gunk out.

... plus I don't have to sing the "little teapot" song while snorting salt water anymore ;-)

[Heretical Rants]

Maybe you had a poorly designed netti pot.  I'm not uncomfortable using mine.


As for point number two, I can see extra pressure making those instances when you accidentally breathe a bit through the nose more painful, but if you insist, I'm sure that the netti pots with longer spouts also have more pressure.

Meh.  It doesn't really matter as long has you're happy with your squeeze bottle and I'm happy with my teapot-like device.

It's like trying to argue why proto-sciento-baptism is better than tyrano-oli-catholicism.

[/side discussion]

[McQ]

Claritin D gave me the side effect of not wanting to eat and after taking it for a week I started having dizzy spells and then almost passed out.  I wanted to keep taking it because I lost weight while on it but I couldn't live with the dizzy side effects.

Yeah, it'll do that. All oral decongestants can have significant effects on your blood pressure. They cause vasoconstriction, which can cause you to get dizzy, among other things, as you've noted. I'm amazed at how readily available OTC drugs like antihistamines and decongestants are in stores. 50mg of the antihistamine Benadryl (Diphenhydramine hydrochloride) is used as a sedative. That is the same dose that is often used to relieve allergy symptoms. In most states you can be tagged for DUI for even small amounts of this antihistamine in your system.

Joe's method is very good and, as he said, it is very inexpensive. You also won't get a DUI from it!