Allergies & Asthma

Hi there! I have come to this board for the first time tonight and it seems there is a wealth of information here. I'll continue to read recent threads, but wanted to go ahead and post anyway.

I've had spring allergies since I was about 10 and normally just "suffer through" the months of March - May. Claritin (or related knock-offs) offer some relief, but some days when the pollen count is unusually high, it is nearly unbearable. All I want to do then is take a Benadryl with as much "drowsy" as possible so can sleep and not deal with it. Most spring days I wake up in the morning, take a Claritin, and it alleviates the symptoms after about an hour. They never totally go away, but at least I can see and my eyes don't bug me.

This is the first year where I am still waking up with allergy-like symptoms well into late summer/fall. They have always dissipated by now. And yet, most days I am still waking up stuffed up. I sneeze like crazy while getting ready for work, and often this lasts through breakfast and during my drive to work.

I can't figure out what it is! I thoroughly cleaned the bedroom (I am not good about dusting) and reacted so strongly to all the dust getting suspended and disturbed that I thought that had to be it. But, the problem continued into the following days. I have a cat, though I've never been allergic to cats before. There seems to be no reason I can pinpoint...I often wake up this stuffed up at my boyfriend's (no pets), and Fri night I went camping and ALL my sinuses were blocked when I woke up in the morning. Sometimes it's so bad I am getting fluid in the ear.

Any ideas? Should I get my sinuses checked to help pinpoint the problem?

Hi and welcome,

I would definitely see an allergist and get tested, it could be that you've become more sensitive over time and that new allergens are bothering you.
For pollen allergies, if they are severe, you could try going through allergy shots, the treatment is lengthy, can cost a lot, but results can be totally worth it. I had a cousin who was allergic to grass pollens to the point her eyes would swell shut, and after 3-4 years of shots she is desensitized and symptom free.

On the cat thing, allergies develop over time, and just because you never have been allergic doesn;t mean you can't be now, so I would look into that. Because in fact allergies develop only after at least one prior event free exposure since they are an immune system disorder with your system building antibodies against an otherwise harmless substance.

Getting your house cleaned and removing all "allergen traps" such as soft furnishing, carpets, curtains...will already help a lot, but you need to know what is triggering the symptoms in order to take better action to feel better.

Keep us updated ok?

Thank you all for your responses. I began talking to more people in my area and reading up on allergy causes. I got recommendations for local allergists from a few friends. On this very board, I found an article listing the top ten polluted cities in the US. I suspected my city would be on there (majority were in the humid southeast) and sure enough...we are #3.

Once Equinox hit, however, it was like a switch had been flipped. The problem went (almost) totally away. I can only conclude it was late summer/fall allergies...which I have never had before...but it seems the only all-encompassing thing that would have affected me at home, boyfriend's, and esp. while camping outdoors.

Also, in talking to many friends, colleagues and the BF (the majority here are transplants to this city and not originally from the southeast), I heard many stories of, "Well, I never had allergies before I moved here."

I have been planning a move to the west coast for awhile now, and this seems another good reason to go! I hope to be there by 2011.

THANK YOU for your responses!