Have you been sneezing more this summer?

[NNN0LHI]

I can barely breath. One of my eyes is damn near swollen shut from rubbing it. One of my dogs is scratching herself bloody. The other dogs eyes look wet all the time. This is about the worst I have seen.

Don

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/81452--allergy-season-worsens-this-year

Allergy season worsens this year

Warmer weather can be to blame

Tanya Fletcher Jul 24, 2010 21:09:19 PM

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Have you been sneezing more this summer? You are not imagining it! This summer is one of the worst for allergies.

Local allergist Dr. Seung Kim says there's more pollen floating around in the air, and we can blame it on the weather. "The lack of snow last winter set up a heavy allergy season this year. Normally when we have a lot of snow in winter time, the allergy season in summer is not as bad."

He says the preliminary pollen count this summer seems to be higher than last year. "The allergy symptoms get much worse if we have very sunny days with a gentle breeze. That creates a signal to the plant to release even more pollen into the air."

[myrna minx]

1. Oh mercy, yes.

I finally purchased two air purifiers - so I hope they help. I just plugged them in about an hour ago, and so far so good. This season has been horrible.

Hang in there. Ahhh Choooo!

[RKP5637]

2. Yes, I have. My eyes have also been bothering me too and when last at my eye dr. for

an exam he gave me a prescription and said lots of people have been having these problems this summer.

[NNN0LHI]

6. My vet told me today he seen a hundred dogs just like the one I got scratching themselves bloody

He said he has never seen anything like it before in over 30 years of practice.

Don

[spotbird]

30. I have to give my dog 4 benadryl

twice a day (the vet says dogs need way more than humans), and he still itches (the dog, not the vet).

[napi21]

3. All you allergy sufferers, you must realize there are meds that

can mostly if not completely alleviate your symptoms, but you need to go to the doc! I went though this with my husband. When we lived in the NE he never had any problem. When we moved to the south, they started to appear, but when we moved to Ga. They went insane! All he did was mope around the house tearing,coughing & sniveling AND COMPLAINING! I finally convinced him to go to the doc. The first med he got was like magic, but the next year something changed and he had to change meds. If your allergies are really bad, your doc can give you a test & have a formula prepared especially for YOU.

It's silly to suffer when there is something out there that will at least make the symptoms go away!

[Individualist]

7. Speak for yourself

I've tried the allergy shots, prescription meds and OTC meds. Nothing "makes the symptoms go away".

[TorchTheWitch]

24. I can't take any decongestants or antihistimines

because I take an MAOI. So every year I just have to suffer with the allergies, and if I get a cold or the flu I also have to suffer. You're, right, there is no magic med for some of us... been round that dog track for years and years. It sucks.

[yella_dawg]

8. Not all allergies are created equal.

Believe me. I've tried everything, including surgery. Made matters worse.

[knitter4democracy]

21. I've been on meds almost all my life. They don't always work.

Or, worse, they work great, and then they discontinue them because they're dangerous. That's happened to me several times now, which makes my doctor a bit twitchy.

It really depends on the allergy, on the med combo, and on the allergy build-up (they add up, so if you're already at a high level all the time, having something new in the environment that you're allergic to can really put you over the top and then be difficult to control).

[wickerwoman]

25. But the side-effect of continuous use

of the meds my doctor prescribed was "fungal infections of the sinus" which wasn't really something I ever wanted to experience.

Plus, I've found I can control my allergies much better with diet than with medication. When I eat crap my allergies get much, much worse straight away. Staying away from loads of sugar, I haven't needed medication for more than ten years.

[bobbolink]

31. Its silly to judge people when most of us know that not EVERYONE even gets to see a frgging dr!

Geeeez, goddamn Louise!

Is there NO compassion left in this damned party?

[JuniperLea]

32. There's very little over the counter...

And with so many out of work or without insurance, a trip to an allergy doctor is cost prohibitive. And some of us have been sucessfully treated by good medicine and good doctors... but the price of all of this is just too high for many.

I don't fault people for complaining... it's free, it makes me feel better, and there is no low-cost alternative.

[Contrary1]

4. Not sneezing...just not feeling great.

Coughing, head and chest congestion, and an overall tired/sleepy feeling. This is my 3rd go around with it this summer.

[kestrel91316]

5. No, but I have a cat coughing who never used to in the previous 3 1/2 years I've had him.

[Cirque du So-What]

9. Over 100" of snowfall last winter

yet lots of my coworkers are bothered by allergies that they say are worse this year.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Yes at least the ashtma hasn't gotten worst

but then again, Cali, SO Cal, has gotten a colder season, but yes, even here.

[PDJane]

11. Yes. I'm living inside with the a/c on and I'm still

hurting like hell......and itching like crazy. We have an infestation of various bugs this year, too, including sand fleas. My legs look like hell......

[ladywnch]

12. I've gotten very efficient in my sneezing as a result. Instead of

sneezing many times a day I now just sneeze about 13 - 15 sneezes once a day all in a row and then I'm good for the rest of the day!! It really works for me...a little annoying when my face goes numb but hey!....minor inconvenience.

[MineralMan]

13. Not really, but I don' t have allergies.

I've certainly had a lot more bug bites, though, this year. I just found another spider bite on my arm. Ick! Those always take a couple of weeks to heal completely. I think the seasons have been odd.

[doc03]

14. I don't think so, I sneezed a lot a few weeks ago when the pollen

was bad I guess but I always do.

[babsbunny]

15. itchy nose

it is major

[DCBob]

16. Yes, coughing too.. I think its high pollen..

ah choo! excuse me.

[Historic NY]

17. Big Box a kleenex a week...never ever had it this bad.

[XemaSab]

18. My allergies have been BRUTAL

here in Northern California. :o

[pipi_k]

19. Glad to know I'm not alone

Sneezing, coughing, sore scratchy throat, swollen watering eyes, stuffy nose, blocked Eustachian tube (making me partially deaf in left ear), tired, and all around irritable.

My poor dogs are scratching, one has watery eyes.


This is the worst I've ever seen it. And that's on clear days. When it rains, I get the mold allergies.

blech

[SOS]

20. Locally-produced honey may be of some help

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/to_honey.html

[Kat45]

22. Now that you mention it, I have been sneezing quite a bit

And they're generally those big loud sneezes that get everyone's attention. Often several in a row.

[TorchTheWitch]

23. Your dog too???

Normally mine gets a bit drippy eyed in the spring but nothing like this, and it's never lasted this long. And it went from drippy to gooey... amazing amounts of goo. He's had a bacterial skin infection on his back and sides since May, antibiotics do absolutely nothing for it (although it has helped his eyes), and it's spreading. He scratches all the time, and I was wondering if the vet was wrong and it is mange or some kind of parasite after all. He thought it was allergy related but more likely a food allergy... but changing his food did nothing (and he hates the new food) and he makes perfect poop every time like clockwork (I'm so envious!). I always thought if it's allergy related it would be environmental since the skin and the eyes started at the same time and virtually overnight.

My allergies were worse than ever before this year and started later in the season than usual, but I've been pretty much ok for the past month. The dog is usually done with the drippy eyes thing by the end of spring, too, and he's never had this skin problem before. I'll be so upset if he has to go through this skin crap for the rest of the summer and worse, if he gets it every year. Poor guy must be miserable and neither the oral antibiotics nor the special shampoo from the vet is helping.

[NNN0LHI]

27. I was sure it was mites or some other parasite with my dog but it wasn't

After a month of misdiagnosis the vet finally put her on Hydroxyzine for itching and a steroid called Triamcinolone starting yesterday morning and she hasn't itched one time since. She is peeing a lot but I can deal with that. The itching was driving her and me nuts.

Good luck with the pooch.

Don

[Ratty]

26. Yes!! It's been terrible. I'm worried I'm allergic to my new house

I'm thinking I'm allergic to the new house. Dragged the new carpet outdoors for awhile. Still sneezing. Not the carpet. Locked the new down comforter in the room downstairs. Still sneezing. Not the comforter. I've been thinking about getting an allergy test done. I do get hay fever sometimes but I've been checking the pollen counts for my area and they have been low lately.

[hobbit709]

28. Here in Austin we have more different pollens than you can shake a stick at.

The only thing I'm allergic to is mold and with the rains this year the mold count has been staying over a 1000. Thank god for Loratidine

[AtomicKitten]

29. I've been that way for about the past six months.

There are no more "seasonal allergies" anymore for me; it seems I have them nonstop now. My M.D. said to go ahead and take as many antihistamines as is required to remain sane. I wake up with bronchospasm; I have allergic asthma so that's been fun too.

Aaarggghhh!

[Dragonbreathp9d]

33. I'm not crazy?