Allergies

[Jack Peterson]

5 minutes ago, Ginger said:

when I'm outside walking near flowering trees, so it's acting like an allergic reaction.

Pollen? it is Blossom time 

[OnMyWay]

6 hours ago, Ginger said:

Thanks for that tip and the photo of the meds, Heeb. I'll see if I might be able to procure some of this spray and give it a try. I expect to live in the Philippines for around 10 years, so I'd like to figure out how to get through these times of tree blooming on our campus in a less dramatic way. Input much appreciated.

I have asthma a bit and allergies.  The asthma started after I moved the Philippines in 2010, although I did have a bit when I was a small child.  The allergies have been off and on over the years.

I live not far from Heeb and we have jungle surrounding us.  I don't know what these big trees are but they drop these yellow flowers and it has been really bad this year.  I took this pick last week.  It is worse because usually the gardeners sweep it up, but most are not here because of the lockdown.

The allergies can trigger allergic rhinitis, which triggers my asthma, and asthma is a risk factor for Covid.  I had one or two asthma attacks in Jan/Feb, so when Covid starting being in the news about a month ago, I started taking my preventative Asthma med Seretide twice a day and Ceterizine 10 mg once a day.  So far, so good.  My asthma has gone away for now.  I still have some stuffy nose, etc., but mostly at night when sleeping.

My wife never had allergies before, at least not much.  For the last 3 weeks, she had a cough, sometimes scratchy throat, and sinus / stuffy nose issues at times.  However, mostly at night.  We have had a hard time getting a gardener and don't have one at all now.  My wife loves to garden so she has been in the yard every morning from 6-8 am and then again in the evening for a hour or more.  A lot of it is sweeping dry leaves up, which the gardener used to do.  And then our neighbor has one of those big trees dropping the yellow flowers.  She is finally taking ceterizine and it helps, but I think she might need to try the Avamys.

Heeb reminded me that I have a bottle of Avamys.  My GP told me I have allergic rhinitis and prescribed it a few years ago.  The expiration is July 2018 but it is probably still good.  Maybe my wife and I will both try it.  I will get a new one for her.

[Ginger]

5 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I live not far from Heeb and we have jungle surrounding us.  I don't know what these big trees are but they drop these yellow flowers and it has been really bad this year.  I took this pick last week.  It is worse because usually the gardeners sweep it up, but most are not here because of the lockdown.

 

Yes, those are the trees that are making me miserable! They are Narra trees, and the doc here tells me that they bloom for weeks around our campus. I read online that they are the national tree of the Philippines. We’ve already done our one trip to the store this week, as allotted by the quarantine, so I will find someone heading that way, or else wait until Sunday when we can go again.

[Heeb]

9 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Heeb reminded me that I have a bottle of Avamys.  My GP told me I have allergic rhinitis and prescribed it a few years ago.  The expiration is July 2018 but it is probably still good.  Maybe my wife and I will both try it.  I will get a new one for her.

I had my second rhinoplasty surgery about ten tears ago, my ENT specialist swore by the spray, he also subscribe an asthma medication called singulair even though I didn't have asthma, he wasn't a fan of antihistamines but he never told me why, just be aware that it can take a few days for the Avamys to work.

[Heeb]

So I've noticed my allergies are still really bad, and with staying inside all the time they should have been getting better, then I notice they are a lot worse at night and now I'm awake at 4 A.M. because my eyes are itching so bad and my wife is waking me up from coughing. I got to thinking that the maid likes to hang dry everything including the sheets and blankets even though we have a dryer, the cloths line are behind the house practically in the jungle so they would be getting peppered with pollen, today I'm going to insist that everything gets rewashed and no longer hung dry

[Heeb]

https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2018/0327/950353-8-tips-to-make-your-home-a-pollen-free-zone/

 

tip number 3) don't hang laundry outside

[Tommy T.]

3 hours ago, Heeb said:

So I've noticed my allergies are still really bad, and with staying inside all the time they should have been getting better, then I notice they are a lot worse at night and now I'm awake at 4 A.M. because my eyes are itching so bad and my wife is waking me up from coughing.

My eyes also started itching and watering again a few days ago. I had an episode of the same thing about 2 weeks ago that lasted several days then subsided. The allergy eye drops work wonders and so I am not bothered after I use them.

I can only think it must be some sort of seasonal pollen because the air here in Davao is very clean mostly now. The usual build-up of black on horizontal surfaces is still happening, but at a much lesser rate.

So maybe there is one positive thing about the virus causing lockdown?

Edit: I realized I forgot to mention that I have been sneezing and having stuffy nose lately too... allergies only...

Edited April 13, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Ginger]

6 hours ago, Heeb said:

I got to thinking that the maid likes to hang dry everything including the sheets and blankets even though we have a dryer, the cloths line are behind the house practically in the jungle so they would be getting peppered with pollen, today I'm going to insist that everything gets rewashed and no longer hung dry

As an update: I think the Avamys has been working as well as anything I have tried. Not perfect, but my eyes are much better. About the pollens coming in on the sheets: I think you may be onto something. One of my relatives saw my sad-eyed photo on social media, and she commented that pollen falls on us all day, including settling into her hair, so her doctor suggested she shower off several times a day. I’m always on the lookout for the power of suggestion in making us think something works. But I tried showering before going to bed at night, and I think it may be a good strategy in addition to the morning showers (and sometimes midday). For what it’s worth...

[Ginger]

On 4/2/2020 at 12:25 AM, OnMyWay said:

I live not far from Heeb and we have jungle surrounding us.  I don't know what these big trees are but they drop these yellow flowers and it has been really bad this year.  I took this pick last week.  It is worse because usually the gardeners sweep it up, but most are not here because of the lockdown.

 

The campus on which I live has Narra trees all over. My husband keeps reminding me that I’m blaming something when I don’t know for sure that it’s the cause. However, these trees have been taking turns blooming and then dropping their yellow petals... for WEEKS. And my allergic reaction has been for weeks. I even notice my skin prickling; this makes me wonder if I’m just falling to the power of suggestion, like a person who gets desperately thirsty the minute someone says the water has been turned off when something gets repaired. I wonder when the Narra bloom will be over? However, I like living and working in the Philippines well enough that I would be willing to put up with it every years for the 10 years that we plan to live here!

Right now I’m doing an Avamys-Zyrtec-antihistamine eyedrops daily routine. But the doctor also prescribed a medium-strength corticosteroid for me to try. I picked it up but haven’t tried it yet, as I prefer to go as low-key on meds as possible, and the current routine has things knocked down to a bearable level. (Sorry for the all the detail; hopefully it’s helpful to anyone else.)

[Heeb]

2 hours ago, Ginger said:

As an update: I think the Avamys has been working as well as anything I have tried. Not perfect, but my eyes are much better. About the pollens coming in on the sheets: I think you may be onto something. One of my relatives saw my sad-eyed photo on social media, and she commented that pollen falls on us all day, including settling into her hair, so her doctor suggested she shower off several times a day. I’m always on the lookout for the power of suggestion in making us think something works. But I tried showering before going to bed at night, and I think it may be a good strategy in addition to the morning showers (and sometimes midday). For what it’s worth...

Yes it does make it just tolerable, I don't know when it ends around here, maybe rainy season, I don't know, I do have a rash on my back and chest, not sure if it's allergies.