Allergies

The last two weeks I've been hammered by "allergies", possibly hayfever; I'm going through boxes of Kleenex. I eventually went to the local clinic and was told "you were here 1 year ago tomorrow for the same reason".

The plethora of prescribed and OTC medications work for a day or two, then seem to fail.

My eyes are almost closed, making it tough to view my PC screen or my printed music. Today was really tough when I joined several other musicians to play music.

Tom- Aren't you in the Bay Area?  If so I have a allergy physician who might help you.

Thanks Joel, we're currently at our summer base in Wyoming.

When they asked how I was doing, I said "a heck of a lot better than the folks in Texas".

I have been suffering with allergies all my life. The best thing I found is pantothenic acid, which is a B vitamin.

https://smile.amazon.com/NOW-Pantothenic-Acid-500-Capsules/dp/B0013OUQEM/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1504518988&sr=8-3&keywords=pantothenic+acid

http://www.livestrong.com/article/448333-pantothenic-acid-for-allergies/

I used to have sinus infections all the time year after year. The root cause was second hand smoke. While blowing thousands of dollars one of the things I was given and still use from time to time was ipratropium bromide. You could ask your Dr if it might help your condition. Another thing that we have used is http://shop.neilmed.com/Products/Sinus-Rinse/Sinus-Rinse-Regular-Kit. It's important to pay close attention to the instructions on what water to use. This product is safe but the water part is  very important.

I made it to 63 yr old without being on any permanent prescription meds and usually lean heavily to methods such as Seilerbird has mentioned. If i were to get a sinus infection the Ipratropium wouldn't help but if I notice the first symptoms I can usually chase it away. You might also research the diet side of it all as many foods and garbage that we eat could be inflammatory or mucus producing. We bought a good book years ago called "Prescription for nutritional healing" that is helpful.

Another different issue I have had is gerd which for me is just my body finally saying "You are not going to treat me this way". It's gone when I stop eating garbage like chips, ice cream, chocolate, margarita mix, etc and limit coffee.  It can make you think you're having a heart attack and radiates up my spine into my head.  Good food is the answer for me.

After my last episode of gerd and reaching up and slapping myself I'm going to lose 30 pounds or so which will take the pressure off my organs and help with the gerd issue.  I hope you find relief soon.

Years ago, I was a complete mess in the springtime (oak, hickory, and some grass pollens) and then again in the fall...mid to late Aug through the first heavy frost...Ragweed).  It was to the point that was almost non functional at times.  I went to an allergy Dr. and when the tests were run, the above pollens were found to be my allergy triggers.  I stated taking allergy shots.  Once a week for about three years, then every other week for a while, then once a month.  This went on for five years and today, I am almost completely allergy free.  I take over the counter Allegra 180, which is a "daily"/24hr pill, and honestly, I probably don't take more than 12-15 of them in an entire year.....that's how good it is for me now.  Night and day difference from then to now.  Allergy shots was a long process, but I got my life back to mostly unaffected by pollen.

Thanks all. I'll be talking with the Doc when I have my routine visit next month. Meanwhile, I ordered the NeilMed sinus rinse. Several years ago I'd considered buying the NetiPot on the recommendation of a friend who swore by it, but I didn't buy it.

I believe this to be a transient issue, triggered by a combination of location and local conditions. They're "turning" the fields in the valley here, which suggests it might be hayfever.

We had to quit visiting Quartzsite and Moab some years ago, because we'd always get sinus infections in the desert conditions. When we first started visiting the California Delta (San Joaquin Valley) on weekends in the 80's, I'd always get sinus issues. But, when we later moved our primary residence there, the allergies disappeared over time.

Just as a follow up on my previous post.  When I was going through the allergy shots, back in 1197-2002, I lived in IL and the allergies in that area were sometimes fairly high.  In 2006, we moved to the Knoxville, TN area.  I didn't know it at the time, but the Knoxville area is usually always in the top 5 or so areas of the country for bad allergy problems and sometimes it is the worst city in the U.S.  Even though it's been 15 years since I completed my allergy shots, I still basically have very few allergy issues.....even living in the Allergy Capital of the U.S. at times.  They work for sure.

Your 'shots' story reminds me that, in the late 80s/early 90's, my other half would get severe headaches that would incapacitate her for up to a week. Through coincidence, she visited a specialist who gave her shots in the turbinates; Instant relief, and she only needed them once a year. Eventually she was able to quit having shots. I don't recall if these headaches were allergy-related, but shots in the nasal passage suggest they might have been.

I've always heard that eating lunch local honey will also help fight allergies.

I heard that too. But, since we're here for a relatively short period(several weeks), I wonder if that would work.

I have been taking two allergy shots every other day for almost a year now, with no improvement yet.  I was in Nebraska last May and was a basket case, so I went to a pharmacy and got Allegra D 24 hour (the behind the counter expensive stuff) per my allergist's recommendation.  That helped enough for me to continue on my trip.

Allegra 24 (OTC) is one of the things I'm taking at the recommendation of the clinic. Don't recall it being very expensive. Maybe this is different than Allegra 'D' 24  ???

Edit: Just found the receipt and the Allegra 24 was $23.40

Just a thought....DW had hay fever-like symptoms for several years and finally went in to an ENT doc for tests. Turns out all her respiratory symptoms were not caused by environmental issues at all, but were a result of food allergies!  Once the offending foods were identified, she just quit eating them and the improvement was almost instantaneous. The doc couldn't believe it, especially since the list of food she was allergic to was both long, and loaded with good stuff (chocolate, beef, yeast, coffee, and more). Anyway, now that she knows what she can, and more importantly can't, eat, she's pretty much cured.  Much better than shots.

Ah yes, it took me more than 30 years to find out what was causing my almost-daily migraines.  Turns out it was what I was putting in my mouth.  And of course it took years of keeping food, mood and environmental diaries to find out the biggest culprits were garlic, vinegar and MSG.  Not easy to track down, but worth the effort because I seldom have migraines now that I know what to avoid.

ArdraF

I went through a slate of food allergy tests several years ago, and they all turned out to be negative.

We're currently on the receiving end of the California fire smoke, and I'm sure it's not helping with the issues we both have in our eyes.

Between my regular seasonal allergies and the smoke, I am using a lot of tissues! I use Claritin on a regular basis. In addition I use a HEPA filter fan in the bedroom at the S&B. It does help, but I feel I am tied up inside the house. We leave tomorrow for Yellowstone, and I am hoping it is better than here; we have an "orange" pollution alert right now.

We leave tomorrow for Yellowstone...

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We're a couple of hours south of Yellowstone, on Hwy 89. Smoke is definitely an issue here.

Started with a teaspoon of local honey every day this spring after I went through about 3 hankies when I mowed the lawn.  Have not even sneezed since I started using the honey.  Can't say it is the answer but I have suffered badly for years with these allergies and this summer has been great,,, just saying.

Tom said:

Allegra 24 (OTC) is one of the things I'm taking at the recommendation of the clinic. Don't recall it being very expensive. Maybe this is different than Allegra 'D' 24  ???

Edit: Just found the receipt and the Allegra 24 was $23.40

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The stuff behind the counter has the ingredients that the illegal drug peddlers use for raw materials.  That runs the price up because a record must be kept for all purchases.  Walmart has their own brand for a somewhat lower price.