June 3rd, 2007
My allergies have gone bonkers. All day long my eyes have been watering and watering – it really looks like I’m crying, it’s so voluminous. Plus they’re red and a bit itchy. They sting. This is, in a word, horrible.
Plus, the drug store near my school was closed all day so I couldn’t get any Benadryl. I just took one now, after about eight hours of nonstop crying. Honestly, this is just too much.
Too much I tell you!
Edit later that day: I popped the Benadryl but still had a full hour of stinging, running eyes before anything improved. My eyes get very light sensitive and I couldn’t even watch Law and Order because the sunlight in the living room was too bright! They’re still a wee bit moist and unhappy feeling but overall I am much improved.
Recently I completed a stress inventory as part of a class exercise and chronic allergy appeared on the list of stressors. Boy, are they right! Having hay fever like I have is like waging a constant battle against a low grade sinus infection at all times. It waxes and wanes, some days are good and some days are total crap-o. I take two pills a day for this to keep me upright and sometimes need Benadryl or Sinutab as well. It’s constant. I know it’s not severe, but it is without question a stressor!
I’ve had terrible sinuses for ages and have used just about everything, sprays, netti pots, meds, homemade stuff, etc and found nasal washes to work the best. I’ve tried a few, but found a brand called SaltAire Sinus in particular to be my favorite as it has a built-in pump, so I’m not dumping into my nose, but rather shooting up into it. The angle makes a huge difference in clearing sinuses, plus it’s so much easier to use. I recommend to anyone with sinus problems.
Mel got hit yesterday by really nasty allergies as well. Something the two of you are allergic to must have released a lot of pollen. She sounded like a housewife in a cold medication commercial when she talked, all d’s and b’s.
“By head id killinb be.”
When I was young nobody could figure out why I was in such a bad mood all the time, until they put 2 + 2 together and figured out it was when I was having allergic reactions.
Of course, doctors say there is no correlation; allergies can’t make you irritable. Obviously these doctors don’t have unmanageable allergies. The constant feeling that something’s wrong with you is aggravating.
And now Geoffrey’s got the same problem. We give him antihistamines when he’s acting up and within a half-hour he’s fine.