Let's talk about allergies.

[Kyla]

I keep seeing stories about how bad allergies are in the US this year. I may be jinxing myself, but I'm not feeling it at ALL - and I used to get really, really terrible allergies when I lived in California, where I grew up. But since I moved to the Midwest, they've eased up considerably.

I have an idea that I've heard somewhere that allergens you grew up affect you worse than those you encounter later in life. Do you think this is what's going on? I suppose it's possible that I've outgrown allergies, as well.

[Freudian Slit]

I thought this was going to be a "Let's bitch about allergies" thread and I was all set to be, "People with allergies in the house--say yeah!"

But yeah, I've noticed mine are bad this year. Not so much with the sniffliness but my eyes (and ears, a little) are itchy. My eyes were really red last night. Today it's not so bad, but Thursday night, Saturday night, and yesterday, it was really annoying. I've been taking my allergy medication which has helped.

Oops. Forgot to mention my background. Mostly grew up in suburbs outside NYC (from age six on). Didn't get allergies till around high school, maybe fourteen? They were a lot worse through high school which I attribute to being in the suburbs. Though when I was in college a few years ago in the city they were pretty bad, too. These days I get them, but they're not as bad. Even this season which is worse than it's been in the last few years is MUCH better than the worst allergies in the past.

[nonacetone]

I've got allergies that are kicking up now, also. They're usually not this bad, though.
The red, itchy, gummed up, runny eyes, sinuses that feel like they're full of cement (but yet, my nose drips) which makes my teeth hurt (I know that sounds stupid, but it's true), scratchy throat, halfway clogged/itchy ears, and all the other crap that goes along with it.
I live in west central Indiana, if that matters at all.

[Freudian Slit]

Wow. My itchy eyes are not nearly as bad as yours, nonacetone. Same with my nose or ears. Maybe I'll re-evaluate my complaining...

[elfkin477]

I think it's just that allergies are worse than usual because of a bumper crop of what people are allergic to. Mold is a big one, for example.

Three weeks ago I spent an entire week with my nose running and I sneezed about 40 times a day. I'm pretty badly affected by mold, and three weeks of flooding in a row made the ground mold all happy. I also had to stop driving for a few minutes on a couple of occasions because my eyes suddenly burned and watered so badly I couldn't see well enough to drive safely. Fortunately, most of the flooded land has dried up and I can lean my head down without needing a tissue under my nose to catch drips.

Articles from March indicate that mold has been a bigger problem than usual for allergy sufferers this spring.

[Maeglin]

I thought my seasonal allergies had completely gone away. Then spring arrived this year, and I am absolutely miserable. I can't remember the last time it was this bad.

I live in New York City.

[nonacetone]

Well, I can only imagine that the problem is because it's an absolutely beautiful day, with a 70 degree temperature. That means I have ALL the windows open. It's a bit breezy outside, which has stirred up the pollen, and it's blowing it into the house. I can't make myself close the windows,though. It's just too nice for that!
I'll just take my OTC/I-had-to-sign-for-these-damned-things Sudafed, and go about my happyass day.

[psycat90]

I had pretty awful allergies growing up in NJ that started around mid-August and lasted until about the first frost. Ragweed was the main culprit, but lots of grasses and trees and other misc. stuff.

When I moved to CA I had about 3 years allergy-free while my body figured out what it was I am allergic to that grows in this area. And it did figure it out, with a vengeance. Now instead of fall allergies, I have spring allergies. Starting now and lasting until everything really dries up, around mid to late June or so.

I haven't been tested, so I don't know what exactly it is, but it's bad. Even with Patanol, Flonase, Allegra, and Benadryl, I still suffer.

[badbadrubberpiggy]

Mine are worse than usual this year. Most years, Claritin prevents them completely as long as I remember to take it every day. This year, it's only sort of working. My eyes are itchy (unusual for me other years), my nose is always stuffy (could be attributed to pregnancy, though), and I'm getting more sinus headaches.

As for the OPs theory that the allergens you grew up with are worse than the ones you didn't, I live in St. Louis now but grew up in NH, so at least in my case it's not true.

[Surly Chick]

Mine have been ok so far (knock wood). I just moved to the area so this is my first allergy season in New England. I relocate every two to three years and I've discovered that I'm usually good the first season but the second season is a nightmare. My second year in Germany, my allergies were so bad that I literally could not open my eyes in the morning without soaking them with a warm washcloth first because they were so crusted over. Disgusting.

[gallows fodder]

I've never heard of being able to outgrow allergies (except with medical intervention) but always the opposite (getting worse as you get older). Mine are indoor allergies and aren't particularly worse or better this year, except yesterday I had an attack in the morning and took my beloved Zyrtec....and then I had another severe attack in the afternoon, which the Zyrtec should have prevented. That's never happened before and now I fear it is an omen of things to come. *shivers*

[dangermom]

Oddly, mine have not been bad this year at all. I've had one or two bad days, but nothing compared to the usual. I think I may have mutated. We are having an unusually cool and rainy spring (yay!), so maybe that's it, but everything is growing like crazy and there's been quite a bit of wind.

Mutation, that's the ticket.

[overlyverbose]

My husband woke up yesterday morning looking like hell - bloodshot eyes, deep circles around the eyes, snotty, scratchy throat, dry cough. The works. A combination of sleep and Neti Pot really helps him. He took a 2-hour nap in the afternoon and looked immeasurably better. Still, I haven't seen him this bad in years.

Our five-month-old baby and preschool-aged son also have allergies. Both were really congested and our baby had red, puffy eyes all day. Pretty much everyone but me was absolutely miserable yesterday because we'd spent the day outside the previous day (we didn't realize until afterward that she was so allergic). So I spent half the day dribbling saline solution and sucking boogers out of our baby's nose and the other half mediating fights between my husband and son because they were both so uncomfortable I thought they'd start climbing the walls.

I wasn't completely unaffected, though. My face hurt so much last night that I threw in the towel and got in bed at 9:30, which is two or three hours than I normally go to sleep. But my pain could've been as much from the stress of managing everyone's tempers as it was allergies. At the end of the day I was about ready to see if my son and husband's heads made a coconut-like sound when knocked together.

[SanibelMan]

I've only had one really awful day so far this year. I'd taken my Allegra and Flonase, but by the evening I was just miserable. When I got home from work I took a Zyrtec, but it only got worse - I was constantly sneezing and my sinuses were practically swollen shut. I had to take a Benadryl right before bed. I was fine the next day, save for the fact that I couldn't concentrate on anything.

[Harmonious Discord]

My eyes have burned and been gunked up for a couple weeks. In mid March I touched a yew and a cloud of pollen left it. Pollen isn't worse for the plants producing it. The tree are ahead of schedule in Wisconsin.

[Lightray]

From what my allergist(s) have explained, there's basically two types of allergies: (1) the ones that get worse with each exposure, and (2) the ones you might "grow out of" eventually.

Food allergies, such as peanuts or shellfish or whatever, tend to be #1, apparently. Seasonal allergies often #2.

I've lived around the St. Louis area for the past thirty years or so, and my seasonal allergies have changed -- I used to have allergy-induced asthma, but it's been over a decade since I even bothered to have an inhaler. It's all the same allergens I've been encountering in that time, but they just don't bother me the same way (more itchy eyes and sneezing, than anything, now).

Meanwhile, my allergies to tree nuts have only gotten worse. Heck, I didn't even know I was allergic to 'em until I was in my 20s.

[Sehmket]

My allergies are weird. I definatly get symptoms - mostly a stuffy nose and slightly itchy eyes - but they don't bother me all that much. (I also don't sleep very restfully, which DOES bother me a lot, which is why I get treated, but that'd not your typical symptom). The weird thing is, though, I always thought I had fairly mild allergies, because I don't get the huge visible symptoms. Then I went and got tested when I was in grad school (I had run through pretty much every med through my regular doc at that point - lasted about a year and a half before they just stopped working, so we were moving on to shots). Turns out I was allergic to pretty much everything they tested for - in some cases quite severely so (Like cats - which wasn't even my worst one - which, on a scale of check or no check, got two checks and a note which read "don't ever get a cat. Ever."). But, then I went on shots, and it was the best year and a half of my life. I discovered what "quality sleep" actually was. I was taking NO pills or sprays, and I never used more than one or two tissues in a day. It was WONDERFUL.

I miss that health insurance.

[Autolycus]

I usually have really terrible allergies, but I've been OK this year. It's probably just psychosomatic, but I find smoking 1-2 cigs a week (cigs, not packs), helps kill any pollen lingering in my nasal cavities.

[elfkin477]

New article citing this as the worst allergy season in years here.

[Jelly Roll]

I'm in Middle Tennessee.

My 2 year old is having bad allergies too this year.

I didn't think the poor child was going to survive May last year, but she is getting the same symptoms this year, but a month earlier. She has red eyes, a runny nose and a cough, all exacerbated when she goes outside, of course.

She started taking Claritin when she was about 10 months old and gets a nip of Benadryl at night to help with the allergies and her eczema.

Since she's so young and has eczema, our pediatrician said not to bother with an allergy test right now because she will test positive for everything, which will just frustrate me and not lead to any real solution. I'm waiting to see if she grows out of these seasonal allergies before seeing an allergist. (Anecdotally, my ex-husband was allergic to the world as a child but outgrew his allergies around middle school.)

[Freudian Slit]

Poor kid! Apparently even the dogs are suffering. A neighbor in my building had just come from walking her dog when I was in the elevator going up last night. Poor dog was sneezing away, too, and even has to wear a sweater to keep from scratching herself too much.

[peedin]

I have year-round allergies (not enough to show up on official testing, but the ENT and his PA say I'm totally symptomatic) to dust, mold, etc. I live in the Chicago area (born and raised here) but didn't develop allergies until I was in my 40s. I take Allegra and use prescription eye drops year-round, but yesterday went to the PA and got Prednisone for 4 days because an ice pick was being driven into my sinuses, I can't sleep, have dark circles under my eyes and my eyeballs are red and inflammed. Took the first dose this morning and already feel better.

[QuarkChild]

I misread the thread title as "Let's talk about integrals," and got all excited.

[california jobcase]

I lived in Indiana for my first 23 years. I'm apparently allergic to cool-season grasses (bluegrass, fescue, ryegrass) and hardwoods. May through September there could be brutal. I
moved to SE Georgia in "84 and my allergies are much less severe here. Right now, all the cars are yellow from pine pollen, which leads to lots of allergy allegations from the natives. Doesn't bother me a bit.

[Pigs in Space]

Originally Posted by Kyla

I keep seeing stories about how bad allergies are in the US this year. I may be jinxing myself, but I'm not feeling it at ALL - and I used to get really, really terrible allergies when I lived in California, where I grew up. But since I moved to the Midwest, they've eased up considerably.

How long ago did you move? My understanding is that your body has to get a sample of the allergen, then develop a sensitivity to it, which could take a year or two.

And, yes, an El Nino year in Northern California sucks.

[gallows fodder]

Yeeeaahh, I think I spoke too soon earlier. These past few days have been allergy city here. Allergy attacks in the middle of the night really, really suck.

[Kyla]

Originally Posted by Pigs in Space

How long ago did you move? My understanding is that your body has to get a sample of the allergen, then develop a sensitivity to it, which could take a year or two.

And, yes, an El Nino year in Northern California sucks.

It's been more than a couple years, but I keep moving around, which might through my body off. I lived in Ann Arbor for a year, then Chicago for three years, then I lived in Bulgaria for two years and now it's been two years since I've been back in Ann Arbor.

I also have a cat now. I feel like ten years ago having a cat would have been unthinkable (BIG time allergies) but now...nothing. Well, except being the victim of surprise attacks while I'm sleeping.

[Khadaji]

It hasn't been any worse for me this year than in years past - but mine are usually pretty bad anyway.

[Mama Zappa]

Originally Posted by Kyla

...
I have an idea that I've heard somewhere that allergens you grew up affect you worse than those you encounter later in life. Do you think this is what's going on? I suppose it's possible that I've outgrown allergies, as well.

I wouldn't say that's reliable... I grew up in a cat-free household and now I've got horrible cat allergies... but there might be some truth that a complete climate change may expose you to different-enough allergens, that your body doesn't recognize as enemies.

I spent a summer in California once, and had a terrific summer asthma-wise despite the lousy air quality - I was indoors a lot which I'm sure helped, but I also think that the fact that the allergens were unfamiliar to my immune system helped.

The rest of my life, I've lived on the Eastern Seaboard at various points, so the allergens are largely the same, just in different ratios.