April 30, 2003
Allergy Season
"Allergy season" is an incredible misnomer. For those of us who experience "seasonal" allergies, it really means that we have reactions to different allergens at different times of the year. Does that make it easier to treat? I don't know. As far as I can tell, seasonal allergy sufferers just have to suck it up and go to the doctor, or hope that their favorite antihistamine is available over the counter.
As for me, after coming back from our wonderful trip to Colorado, my allergies really flared up. It felt like my head was stuffed with cotton, and none of my medication (including the prescribed Allegra) was working. So, I made a trip to the doctor, who gave me three, (count them three) prescriptions to take care of my allergies. I'm apparently working slowly up through the arsenal of antihistamines and nasal steriods in an effort to stem the sniffling and sneezing.
So far, things seem to be working. This is in light of the fact that the medications will not fully kick in until later this week, but for now, at least I can draw a breath through my nose. Its the simple things... like breathing... that we often take for granted, I suppose.
HowStuffWorks.com has this to say about allergies (a small part of the article titled How Your Immune System Works):Allergies are another form of immune system error. For some reason, in people with allergies, the immune system strongly reacts to an allergen that should be ignored. The allergen might be a certain food, or a certain type of pollen, or a certain type of animal fur. For example, a person allergic to a certain pollen will get a runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, etc. This reaction is caused primarily by mast cells in the nasal passages. In reaction to the pollen the mast cells release histamine. Histamine has the effect of causing inflammation, which allows fluid to flow from blood vessels. Histamine also causes itching. To eliminate these symptoms the drug of choice is, of course, an antihistamine.
Surprisingly, the Aventis pharmaceutical company has a great online resource for allergy sufferers, and does not preach or advertize their particular products too much (at least not the current web site, or unlike the sites for Allegra and Clarinex). See Keeping Allergies Under Control for an example.
Anyhoo, the new regimen should take care of things for a while. If not, I guess I'll just have to buy a wet/dry vac.
Posted by MEK at April 30, 2003 12:59 PM