Last August I did some serious suffering with what I assumed was seasonal allergies. I complained A LOT – just ask Amy. I remember going into the pharmacy, looking for some drugs that would help alleviate my suffering, and feeling like it really didn’t matter what I got, cause nothing seemed to be working. When the pharmacist asked me something to the effect of, “How bad is it?” I replied with, “It’s brutal!” To which she countered, “It’s not brutal, it’s an annoyance.” Apparently anything that is non life threatening only qualifies as an annoyance to her. Anyways, long story short, I went to see my doctor (I have one now) and she sent me for allergy testing. I had never been for allergy testing before, and as far as I knew – I wasn’t allergic to anything.
As you can kind of tell by the photo accompanying this post, it turns out I am in fact allergic to a bunch of stuff, albeit mildly allergic. Things like pollen, grass, ragweed, trees (in general I guess), dust, cats and dogs, and maybe a few other things. Unfortunately I can’t use this as an excuse to get rid of the cats – already tried and failed. :) Anyways, it was an interesting experience. In the end, the doctor I spoke with gave me a prescription for 20mg tablets of Reactine and a nasal spray and told me to watch the weather network for signs of ragweed around August. Then I just need to use the nasal spray every day and add in the Reactine as needed. I would prefer not to have to take anything, but the vaccine shots are quite expensive I guess.
Anyway, here’s hoping for an easy allergy season this year. :)
There is still hope, scientists at Johns Hopkins have developed sugar-coated polymer strands that selectively kill off cells involved in triggering aggressive allergy and asthma attacks http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119194126.htm I for one would appreciate enjoying a nice day outdoors without worrying about my pollen allergy.