The Worst Allergy Spring Ever!

No, it is not the worst spring for Square Foot Gardening.  It is the worst Spring for Square Mile Allergies.

Our pollen counts have been at the Very High range for weeks.
Our mold counts have been at the highest level on the mold scale.
Our city lies in a bowl, and with the population trying to catch up to Atlanta, and with the city more resembling Los Angeles with automobiles being the only logical mode of transportation in a city with the largest urban sprawl in the nation, our pollution worsens by the day.

If you think LA has smog, you haven't seen nuthin'.  Today, our downtown skyline looked like Pittsburgh at Noon in 1950.

The only happy folks are the 1,000 allergy specialists in the area.  We have allergy physicians in more locations than we have Walgreen's, and there are Walgreen's spaced out about every mile on our side of town--4 within 10 minutes of our house.

It wouldn't be so bad if the allergies were nasal drip allergies, but that is not what most people have.  It's the type allergy that makes your nose feel as though somebody has poured concrete inside until it is completely filled up.  Blowing the nose only causes the ears to pop, as nothing comes out.  Trying to sleep in the normal position brings on choking.  Running to get the adrenaline works, but only until you stop running, and then you get a rebound.

Since I cannot take corticosteroids, the nasal sprays that work to some extent are not an option for me.  There is only so much hot and spicy Chinese food you can eat in a day, and hot soup can be hard to consume when it is already as hot as July on most days here.

When we moved to the Rockies 15 years ago for two years, friends warned me that the lack of oxygen at the altitude where we moved would make it really hard on me.  Ha!  I could breathe much better there, and as a result, taste much better there.  I had to go on a diet for the only time in my life, because food tasted so good.

When we moved back to the South, I literally began to sneeze when we crossed the state line from Kentucky into Tennessee.

The saying here is, "I'm only allergic to one thing--Tennessee!"

It is hard to be motivated to go out in the garden when you see what looks like snow falling and even accumulating, when it is pure pollen.  When you have to apply Similasan Allergy Eye Drops to your eyes every 20 minutes because it feels like you have pebbles moving around, you would rather spend the day in the Jacuzzi with 10 drops of eucalyptus in the water.

As I type this, my ears have stopped up with pain, and I have gotten dizzy.  The Arizona desert seems so appealing.

Vent officially over

Hi,
Have you tried a Nettie pot or saline solution with an aerosol? I find that helps with stuffy nose allergies. It is non-addictive, in my opinion rather effective and unpleasant. If you try a nettie pot in a can with little kids be prepared to do the boogie dance. Hope you feel better.
Patty in Yorktown

My wife introduced my allergy-suffering aunt to essential oil capsules that have reduced her allergy symptoms to almost nothing.  I have watched my aunt suffer from almost year-round allergies from the time I was born.  She now takes a capsule full of lemon, lavender, and peppermint essential oils twice a day.  She has stopped taking her prescriptions, and is now completely symptom free.  I was completely skeptical of any natural remedies that my wife always pressured me to try until I saw the change in my aunt.  I bet you have tried almost everything to relieve some suffering, but I figured it would be a nice gesture to pass along an experience I had to maybe help you. 

I used to suffer from allergies, so I know a little of what you are going through.  Either I outgrew them or the peppermint oil I diffuse all day in the office has eliminated all my symptoms, but now I don't even sniffle one time throughout the day.

Good luck,

Razed Bed, Fresno is also in a Valley and the summer air pollution is in the orange or red when it gets hot. No relief from that kind of irritant unless one moves.

re.: Nettie pots--I have two of these little buggers, and I have gone one step farther than the normal use by adding goldenseal to the saline solution.  Unfortunately, when you are completely congested, even the pressure of the saline solution does not penetrate the swollen passages.  The water just stays in the first nostril and nothing happens.

I have also tried salt water snizzles, an old remedy from the 19th century but to no avail.

Concerning the essential oils, that is very interesting.  My wife has an essential oil inventory that rivals Mountain Rose.  We continually use EO in oils and sprays to help with many issues, including congestion.  We make our own Thieves Oil and Thieves Vinegar, and I have taken peppermint oil for digestive issues and as a disguise for when we eat a lot of garlic.  I have never placed the oils in a capsule and ingested, although I have taken a store-bought oregano/thyme capsule.

Just a heads up to all those reading this and getting interested in EO: DO NOT use them straight on your body or ingested.  You can develop allergies to the oils.  My wife has all this literature from an EO guru.  He continually proclaims that you must dilute and never put an oil on neat.

zackshea wrote:
I used to suffer from allergies, so I know a little of what you are going through. 

Me, too!  It's awful!  But then I read the book 'Eat to Live' and changed my evil ways.  I either outgrew the allergies, or food allergies exacerbated the hayfever/pet/dust allergies.

It's so nice to breathe in bed, or anywhere for that matter...even if it's sometimes only with one whistling nostril.

CC

Well, I guess I'm not alone.  I spent 4 weeks with a serious sinus infection (a virus - said the DR) and other than teaching a few piano students each week, I was on the couch or my bed.  Nothing helped.  All the things that I usually do, (like some of you have mentioned) did nothing.  4 to 5 large boxes of tissue later I finally was able to breath through my nose.  Then the ears plugged up.  UGH 

Yes, this has been an awful year for allergies. 

Hope we are all well soon.

The cottonwoods are just starting to fluff here.  Hubby came out to keep me company in the back yard for 5 minutes - then he went in and proceeded to sneeze his head off!

Both DH & I have been sneezing, coughing, hacking, sleeping sitting up for close to 2 months now...  I agree this is the worst season ever...!

Neti potting has helped me some.  But this stuff gets down in my chest and causes my asthma to act up. 

I can just imagine if I was still living in TX...  That's where the asthma started.  And my allergies were a whole lot worse there than here in GA.

Our pollen count has dropped considerably in the last two days, but the mold spore count has risen substantially.  I went to Ace Hardware today to purchase a new allergy filter for our return air unit.

The biggest problem though is the increased pollution in this area.  So many people believe this is the new "IT" city, that our population averages a gain of 137 new residents per day, 7,000 alone from Los Angeles in 2010-11.

The Los Angelinos arrive here and see a similar issue--smog.  We sit in a bowl, and the only logical mode of transportation is the automobile.  Buses are not very practical due to our sprawl.  We sit on top of tons and tons of bedrock, so underground rail is impossible.  Commuter rail is probably 20 years away.

If you look across the bowl from one side of the top hills to the other, you see a yellowish-gray foggy, smoky, hazy cloud on almost every day.  Last night, my utmost and I sat on our front porch to gaze at the stars and planets and listen to the radio.  We had to come inside because the air smelled like petroleum, and she became as congested as if she had the flu.  Her sinuses closed up.

So, if you are thinking of moving to the South, might I suggest Atlanta--LOL.

Oh, THANKS, Razed Bed...  JUST what we need here. 

For several years, we were getting in 500 new folks a day, so I feel your pain.  In our area, we have about a 10% jump in traffic about every 6 months.  (Confirmed by DOT.)

DH & I went north to pick up some strawberries & peaches day before yesterday and were quite dismayed to see a BUNCH of construction going on in areas that are covered w/ trees...  Progress....

Oh, well.  Off to make strawberry & strawberry-peach jams and to can the other peaches!