I should have seen it coming. The past few days the wind has been up coming out of the south and east with the result that a lot of dust created by the sand of our beaches is now airborne. I have had trouble sleeping since Sunday barely getting a couple of hours a night. I had also noticed some congestion and sinus pain early in the week but paid it little heed. I also produced a few of my “nuclear sneezes” which have been heard by the profoundly deaf. Our roommate Kendra in college has a 110 Db loss across the entire sound spectrum and heard was shocked when she heard me sneeze.
I have had little problem with seasonal allergies this year even when the pollen was coating cars in an opaque yellowish green hue, so I was not expecting any problems this week with pollen counts going down. But the problem was not the pollen but the dust. Dust has been one of those persistent allergens for me and whenever I served in the desert my sinuses have always been worse than normal.
Now I used to have terrible seasonal allergies as a kid, so bad that I was taking allergy shots one to two times a week from 1970 to 1980. When I was tested for allergens I was positive to almost everything that I was tested for and my forearms looked like volcanic mountain ranges as the allergens interacted with me. I took Actifed, Dimetapp and Drixoral for years. The came Seldane and I thought I had found the silver bullet but it was taken off the market because of bad side effects like cardiac arrhythmia and death. In 2000 my Battalion Medical Officer prescribed a combination of Allegra and Flonase and I have not had any real problems since even when I miss my meds. I presume that I have outgrown most of the seasonal allergies which for most of my life affected me year round. I have gotten spoiled, everyone around me can be dying from allergies and I am not bothered, well I can sympathize with them but allergies seldom affect me. Now Judy who had few allergy problems has a lot more problems with seasonal allergies than me at this time.
This morning I awoke with a colossal sinus headache and a little bit of vertigo. I had taken my normal allergy regimen last night, 180 mg Allegra and a dose of Flonase but evidently they were not enough and I was miserable. Judy has been on me for months to start using something called the Neill Med Sinus Rinse system and like any husband I blew her off because I didn’t thing that I needed it. I mentioned my malady on Facebook this morning and several friends also suggested this, since I am not married to them I paid attention. I called Judy and told her that she was right all along and that I was going to get the Neill Med bottle and solution.
So I trudged out the door, got in my car and drove up to Morehead City to Wal-Mart where I picked up the Neill Med system. I was amazed at the amount of dust in the air as I drove over the bridge that links us to the mainland. Before I left the Island Hermitage I looked on the internet to see if the pollen count was high and it was not. So I said to myself “self I think it must be the sand in the air that is causing my problems today.”
When I got home I loaded up the bottle, heated the mixture and followed the directions. I was amazed with the amount of crap that came out. I felt like I was being water boarded but some of the pressure was relieved. I plan on repeating the treatment in a few minutes before I go to bed when I take my Allegra. Hopefully the combination of the medications and the water boarding will do the trick.
To those that suffer from allergies I understand and was reminded just how much I don’t miss dealing with this all the time. As it was it kicked my ass and I don’t like having my ass kicked.
On a serious note no matter how bad my allergies are now right now they are minuscule compared to what many Americans are facing right now. In Joplin Missouri but also throughout the Midwest have been affected by a devastating outbreak of tornadoes. A lot of people have been killed, thousands injured and much of Joplin has been destroyed. Other towns and cities have been hit but Joplin is the hardest hit. Likewise there has been significant flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries which have also devastated many individuals and communities, and there was the April tornado outbreak. It will take a lot to help our fellow Americans going through this disaster and I know that many people are tapped out financially because of high unemployment and the long term economic downturn. If you cannot do anything else pray, but if you can please give to relief agencies or if you are in a place where you can donate time please do so.
Peace
Padre Steve+
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 
I completely sympathise. I used to get shots as well, up until I was 10. Late spring was always bad, usually around the end of the school year. Fortunately, they have died away as I’ve gotten older.
The one persistent is allergies to grass and corn pollen. So guess what crop is grown on two fields within a 1/4 mile of my house? 🙂 Thankfully, the new sewage plant wiped out the closer field, so life is better this year than last.
I will simply second your comments on the weather. An online friend of mine lost a close family friend in the storms that hit Alabama. May God bless and care for all those who have lost so much.
And on a lighter side, if you want a little chuckle, you can visit AFrankAngle on WordPress, and see my .. unique .. sense of humour and history at work! 😀
I inherited asthma and some moderate allergies from my parents, I recall one spring both were so bad the nurses at the ER knew me by name. “Hey, here for the usual?”. When I was a kid, I would react if I ate a lot of nuts, but nothing an antihistamine couldn’t cure. Then about 8 years ago I suddenly started getting violently ill at (seemingly) random times after eating. I would break out in a rash, vomit profusely and feel very odd and “spaced-out”. I went to my doctor who immediately recognized it as anaphylaxis to tree nuts. I now carry an Epi-pen and antihistamines with me everywhere and have showed all my friends, family and co-workers how to use it. So far I’ve been lucky; while I have had a couple of serious reactions (a walnut was stuck in the bottom of a scone I ate), I have not yet needed the Epi, the pills have been enough. When I learned I had the allergy I re-evaluated my relationship with food. The idea that I could simply eat something and die was terrifying. I have other food sensitivities due to a stomach condition, so my diet is somewhat limited. I am extremely lucky to live where I do and have access to medical care and the kind of properly-labeled food I need, but some specialty foods are quite expensive. I would love to be cured of my nut allergy.