Sunday, August 2, 2015

"Ahhhhhh-tchoo!" Confessions of an Allergic Mum


"Ahhhhhh-tchooo!" 
Really loud. Fills the room. 
"Atchoo, atchoo, atchoo!". Snuffle, snuffle, blows nose.

Seriously, hayfever is not funny. I've had it on and off forever. But the past 2 years have been terrible. No respite. As if having two young children wasn't tiring enough. 

"Ahhhhhh-tchoooooooo!". Pause. Blows nose. "Arghhhhh".

I'm seriously over it. Hay fever doesn't sound like a serious condition. It's not. But it can be debilitating at times. And oh so tiring.

This is what I've tried:

"Atchoo! Atchoo!"

So, nose drops now give me nose bleeds. 
Anti-histamine tablets don't work any more.
Steroids are miraculous but I can't have them more than 2 or 3 times a year. And they are baaaaaad for you.
Acupuncture helped my allergies a little, but especially strengthened my immune system and energy levels.
Vicks Vaporizer. Smells amazing, and I do seem to do better on the days when I've used it the previous night.
Avoiding milk as much as I can, but I can't give up cheese and yoghurt and butter and cream!!
Tempted to chop my head off, but.........

I mean, try cooking a meal. I have to stop every two minutes or so to sneeze or blow my nose. Then wash my hands. Then keep going. Then stop again, wash hands. Keep going. Drives me nuts!

"Ahhhhhh-tchooooooo!". 

Some days I get up and I feel like I can't do this one more day. The smiling, the being patient, the educating, the cooking, the cleaning, the policing, the entertaining, the looking good, the caring, the running around, the shopping, the teaching, the hugging, the kissing, the nose wiping, the being reasonable and rational, when all I really want to do is lock myself up in a room, curl up with a book and rest. Oh blissful rest!

But do you know what keeps me going? My faith - as always.



I'm seeing a super duper German allergy specialist this week. Dr Robert Winkler. I have very high expectations and hopes. Actually, he better have some answers and solutions for me otherwise I might actually strangle him (just kidding!).

So if you have any tips that have worked for you, please please please share the looooooove!

In the meantime, Kia Kaha! Be Strong!



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6 comments:

  1. Oh, you poor thing. I hope you have nice tissues (we live on the aloe vera Kleenex ones here) or hankies to save your poor nose from the sandpaper effect.

    Good luck with the new specialist.

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    1. Thank you Thalia. Yes good tissues and paw paw ointment for my poor nose. lol

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  2. Good luck in your search. I find I have to change meds every two years or so. And a good HEPA filter works wonders for dust allergies

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  3. Yup, we pretty much bought the most expensive vacuum there is--5 HEPA filters, including one they call a "virus filter"--yup. You can detach the hose and leave it running in a closed room and it will clean the air!

    Also, Shane has suffered debilitating hayfever all his life too, mostly in summer. His eyes swell up so he can hardly see, and the incessant sneezing leaves him breathless, sore, and anxious due to the rise in adrenaline. So bad that he can't work or drive (imagine trying to teach guitar or worse, perform at an outdoor wedding!!). He's done the steroid injections a couple of times, and they do work for a few weeks, but yeah--you don't want to stay on those!

    What finally worked was seeing a homeopath. It took a while to work out the best remedy for him, and the right dosage, but once he found it--BAM. Dry summer. It was amazing.

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    1. It's so frustrating! And it all costs so much! Do you think the vacuum cleaner with 5 HEPA filters works??

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