How I Beat Allergies

Every spring, I eagerly await the cessation of rain, the extension of day light hours and the conclusion of the month of May. In Marin, May is the month when the flowers are in full bloom and the grass on the hills turns from green to brown. It is the month where every day, I wake up, blow my nose, shower to get the pollens off of me, pop a few allergy pills and check the kleenex supply. Come June, the flowers are less peaked, the fog filters the air and the allergies settle down. This is the story of my life in Marin from May 2001 to May 2007. In May 2008, things were different.

My allergies started before May 2001. I remember one particular BBQ at Stinson Beach in May 1999 when I had to lay down in the back room on the floor just to keep my head straight. I had never really had an allergic reaction to pollen that I could remember and this one hit me hard. The winds were blowing. The air was dry. And I could not find enough Kleenex moving eventually to rolls of toilet paper. My eyes burned. I lost a contact. I was not prepared in the least. But then it all ended when we went back to the city and I forgot about it until May 2001.

By May 2001, I was living in Mill Valley with my then girlfriend, now wife. The allergies were mild but enough to be noticeably uncomfortable. The following year, it was not as mild but still just a minor inconvenience. After 2003, I began to have a dred of the upcoming season with the expectation that it would continue to get worse. And it did. It seemed that theallergy medicine would hold it just at bay for a while. I needed to sprint to the shower right when I woke up to have any chance on the day. I needed to sprint from the shower to the kitchen for a glass of water and a pill or face a day on the couch. Allergies was like a swarm flies serving no purpose except to aggitate and irritate me increasingly each year.

But then a strange thing happened in July 2007. I was sitting in my in-laws living room in Connecticut reading a magazine when I felt the familiar tinge. I immediately showered, took a pill and returned to my magazine. No luck. It kept getting worst. I remembered that a similar thing happened earlier in the year when we were visiting. I started to wonder why is it that I only have allergies in my house and my in-laws house? And then I saw it. The answer that sent me on a path back to normality. The reason for this post and why here on June 1 I can say I had the most mild May I have had since I can remember.

On the mantle of that very fireplace in Connecticut was a wreath that was identical to a wreath that hung in our home. I thought to myself 'there is no way that wreath is the cause' but when I went and gave it a sniff, it was as if I had snorted red and black piper right from the mill. I sneezed. I wheezed. I laughed. I celebrated.

I immediately told my mother in law of the issue and she, being a sport, said, 'let's give it a try and see what happens". We removed the wreath from the house and I did not sneeze once after. When we returned home, we did the same and the sneezing subsided there as well.

Of course, May was still looming in the future, and while I had solved the issue of the sneezing throughout the year, I still had the pollens and dried grasses to deal with. But the wreath wa sthe tipping point and it lead me down the path of the following (which I much prefer to the shower - water - pill dash every morning):

1. No more Kleenex: They are scented. They have paper dust in them. They always lead to me needing more. I use a handkerchief now.
2. No more scented laundry detergent: Just like Kleenex, the scented detergent causes me to sneeze (and because we washed the sheets with it, was one reason why I needed to flush my sinuses in the morning.)
3. No more dryer sheets: Dryer sheets are worse than laundry detergent. They exist to provide scent and that's it. I discovered this when my handkerchiefs seemed to be making me sneeze more.
4. No more scented candles or dried flowers in the house: Curiously, my allergies started when I moved in with Erin. That's the same time scented candles and dried flowers were introduced into my house.

The bottom line is that by eliminating Kleenex, faux odors, fresheners, etc. from my house, I was able to significantly reduce my allergy problem. Do I still have allergies? Yes, but they do not rule my life in May any more and I only used about 1/3 of my allergy pills for the season. Give it a try. Besides helping with the allergies, you'll save some money from not buying Kleenex or as many allergy pills.