Ah, spring time and allergies!






It's spring and my nose knows it! You can hear LOTS of sneezing going on at my house right now.

In fact, we buy allergy medicine and tissues in bulk. Hello warehouse club, we are headed your way!

My husband and I passed on our allergies to all 3 kids, so we are all miserable together in the spring and summer. Actually, we are miserable year round with allergies, but spring and summer are the worst. 

And nice mom that I am, I also passed along my asthma to all 3 kids too! So it's fun with allergies AND asthma at our house.

The funny thing about it though is that all of us prefer different medicines to treat our allergies and asthma.

Daughter Kitty likes one allergy pill, while her brothers each like a different brand of pill. And Hubby and I both like different allergy nose sprays. 

It's important that you need to find what's right for you and your body.

We have all had LOTS of visits with Asthma Doc, and he has recommended that each of us try different allergy nose sprays and pills. And he always asks for our feedback. Did it work? Did we like it? Why or why not? If we didn't like it, he would advise us to take a different brand. 

Make sure you talk to YOUR doc before you try a new medicine or change one. Tell him why you like or don't like a certain allergy medicine or nose spray.

Kitty and Son #2 don't like allergy nose spray because they get a bloody nose with it. But Hubby and I both use allergy nose spray and DON'T get bloody noses. 
Go figure.

Asthma Doc has also told us a few other things that we use to help with allergies:

  • Keep the doors and windows closed in the house (this keeps the pollen outside)
  • Keep the windows up in the car and use air conditioning (also keeps the pollen out)
  • Use Central Air instead of Swamp Coolers (Swamp/Evaporative Coolers allow pollen into the home and also increase the humidity level. They can also leak, which can cause mold problems)
  • Remove your shoes when you enter the home (store them in a basket or shelf - this keeps pollen, dirt and grime outside.)
  • Shower before you go to bed at night (this removes the pollen from your hair and skin)
  • Wash your sheets weekly in hot water (so, you shower and have a clean body -  then jump into a clean bed with clean sheets. It helps us sleep MUCH better.)
  • Keep your bedroom window closed at night (letting in the evening breeze will also let in pollen)


If you are doing everything you can to avoid the pollen and other allergies, are taking allergy medicine, but are still miserable, it may be time to talk to your doc about allergy shots (immunotherapy.)

Allergy shots are usually covered by insurance and take 3-5 years to complete. So, you need to be committed to them. Read the link above to see how they work. 

And make sure you ALWAYS wait 30 minutes after allergy shots. They tell you to do that just in case you have a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis.)

It can and does happen after allergy shots. All 3 kids had allergy shots, yet only one had anaphylaxis. And believe me - I never want to see that again as long as I live. Talk about scary!

So, find out what's right for you. Allergy pills? Allergy nose spray? Allergy shots?

Talk to your doc so you can find a way to enjoy spring and summer. 

Now pardon me while I go find my box of tissues. 

Achoo!







Comments

  1. I did testing and my baby doesn’t have CF!!! Woohoo! Such a relief. That’s not to say she won’t have other health issues but CF is the worst

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    1. Hey there! I was just thinking about you last week and wondering if you had the baby yet. So glad everything went well and no CF for your babe!!! :)

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    2. I had her at the beginning of the month. C section because we were afraid of the physiological stress from Labor negatively affecting my lungs. We did a sweat test immediately because newborn screenings take weeks to get the results. That was negative and the newborn screening also turned out negative. Now me and my husband are tired from the baby crying all night. Oh well, it’s a parental rite of passage

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    3. Smart idea to have a c-section! Yes, those crying babies! My kids were all horrible sleepers too(it's so hard when you're sleep deprived!)

      The old saying, "Sleep when the baby sleeps" is SO true! I would try to hurry and clean or cook when the baby was sleeping, but then I never caught up on sleep which made me really cranky!
      So glad those days are over for me, but I am so happy you have a healthy sweet baby girl! :)

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