Every Blooming Thing...

You can't see it, with the naked eye--pollen. Well, maybe you can, but at this time of year, there's a good chance I can't.

Because I can't see much at all!

Where I live, people scream bloody murder when the the air gets thick with smog. They even announce on the local news that the air quality is bad, so bad, in fact, that they issue air warnings. They pressure us to not drive our cars, and they're almost willing to put in jail anyone who lights a fire in their fireplace.

Yet, when pollen is so thick it you can taste it when you breath in, there's no warnings. There's no "Avoid Beautifying Your Yard With Trees That Explode With Pollen" warnings in the news.

Nope.

Those of us who suffer from seasonal allergies have to just suck it up (literally...) and deal with it.

Now, I admit, seeing a tree in full bloom during those months of spring is a beautiful thing, but for me, I see (or don't see...) things differently. I have so many friends who love spring--can't wait for winter to end and spring to begin. I mean, what good is warmer weather if you can't breath, when your nose is constantly running and your eyes are burning and watering to the point where you can't see? For me, not very much.

And when I'm outside, every blooming thing is...well, blooming.

I know I only have a few more weeks and it will pass. I've only experienced fifty of these springs in my life so I know. The trees will finish their mating cycle and I'll begin to feel "normal" again. 

At least, until the next allergy season begins...in the fall.

It's Allergy Season...

It's Allergy Season Folks!

I've lived with myself for the past four decades + and so I've come to expect a few things about how my body will react at different times of the year. I know I love winters, partially because there's no yard work to do and I'm not a huge fan of summer, partially because there's yard work to do. I do know that for a week or two in spring and another couple of weeks in autumn it's allergy season, at least, for me it is.

Monday morning after I got to work this week, I knew the season had hit. I think I used a box of tissues while at work. Thankfully many of my co-workers do no work Mondays so they were spared the scene that is me during one of my episodes. I used to take prescription drugs to help with my symptoms. I don't anymore. One reason I stopped taking the drugs was because I felt they made me drowsy. I mocked the ads on TV where they claimed their particular drug did not cause drowsiness. You LIE! I would yell. 

I noticed something when I stopped taking the medications. Even without the drugs I was so tired during allergy season. I think it's because my body is fighting so hard to repel the evil pollen invading my senses that it just gets overworked. My body just gets too tired. I'm sure there's someone who can either support my theory to debunk my theory. I'll stick with it...it works for me.

Now I'm using natural remedies. I feel better about them than I did the prescription and over-the-counter medications. Hopefully I'll be able to go to work tomorrow. I'm sure the season is not over, but at least it's one day closer to when it will be.