Musings from Marilyn

Posts Tagged ‘allergies’

It has been a long time in coming, but spring is finally making somewhat of an entrance in the Pacific Northwest.  The weather is still rainy and cool, but the days are longer and the sun is actually making an appearance more frequently.  I don’t know why this surprises me every year, but my good old allergies start to kick in at the first bloom of springtime.  I think because winter, even though it’s dark and gloomy, does afford me a respite in the allergy department.

Tree, plant and grass pollen are filling the air, with the accompanying symptoms of sneezing, sniffling and swollen eyes.  My sinuses seem eternally stuffed up, resulting in that oh-so unattractive mouth-breathing at night.  I know that 24-hour non-drowsy allergy medications are available, and I do take them from time to time.  I don’t want to become dependent on medications though, preferring a more natural approach since it’s so ongoing.

What to do, what to do?  First thing, I am a committed neti pot user.  I religiously use it every day, and have been for years.  There is nothing quite like flushing out the nasal passages with salt water!  Once you start, it’s hard to stop; the instant clean feeling is quite amazing and quite addictive.  It’s perfectly natural though – I don’t think I am in any danger of having to go to neti pot rehab – well, at least I hope so!

I learned something new recently:  that applying petroleum jelly to the inside of your nostrils will trap pollen in your nose.  So, of course, I had to try this.  Being the natural, eco-conscious gal that I am (well, try to be), I really don’t like the idea of putting a chemical by-product up my nose, so I am using the Alba Un-petroleum Jelly, which is the same consistency of petroleum jelly but is made from pure plant oils and all natural waxes.  It helps keep the inner lining of the nose moist too, which just feels better.

First thing in the morning, and a couple times a day, I spray saline nose spray up my nose.  I use it to augment the action of the neti pot, and is more of a quick, nasal-moistening fix.  I find it works even better if I spray, wait 5 minutes, blow my nose and then spray again.   This seems to work more effectively for a quick nasal cleanse.

Yes, I do take allergy medications every now and then.  But since I’ve been practicing the more natural methods, my medication use has greatly lessened.  I haven’t had a sinus infection in years either.  I used to get them twice a year (fall and spring), with the resulting antibiotic use to clear it up.  I hate antibiotic use because it throws the body all out of whack.  I’m glad to be rid of having to take them anymore.

So gurgle, snort, spray and line your nasal passages!  They will love you for it!

~Marilyn Huttunen

Due to the lack of winter here, allergy season started early this year in the Pacific Northwest.  Trees and daffodils started blooming as early as January, and the grass started growing fast and never quit!  While it’s pleasant to have nice weather, it comes with a price.  And that price for many, myself included, is those annoying springtime allergies.  This year is especially fierce; not only here, but in most areas of the country.

Since I suffer from allergies the hardest during springtime,  I decided to take a more proactive approach this year.  The spring allergy season was going to be a long one, so I planned my attack.  I didn’t want to spend any more time than I had to suffering from debilitating allergy symptoms, like in previous years.  This year was going to be different!

First up, I was going to take a 24 hour non-drowsy allergy medication every single day. I picked out Claritin, actually the store-brand equivalent ( a LOT cheaper), and started taking one pill a day.  This had little or no effect.  I posted my allergy woes on my Facebook status update, and got several really good suggestions.   Facebook can be so helpful in many ways!   One friend who is a nurse, suggested I take two tablets a day to get the dosage up to prescription strength.  I looked on the package, and sure enough, the one-pill dosage was the same for a six-year-old as for an adult.  So I started taking two a day, and after a couple of  days it seemed to kick in, and kick butt!

I am also continuing with my daily neti pot rinses, as I do year-round.   I do this later in the day, after the buildup of allergins.  The warm saline water poured through the nasal passages is so soothing and cleansing.  A lot of times I’m pretty congested and not much water gets through.  But even getting just a little bit up the nose seems to help dig through the congestion and help clear the airways.  One trick I’ve learned recently is after you rinse with the neti pot, bend over in front and blow your nose.  Turn your head sideways and blow too.  One crazy thing about using a neti pot is that the saline solution will quite often pool up somewhere in the recesses of your sinuses, and then come rushing out hours later when you bend over.  This most likely happens in a public place, of course!  Doing the bend-over nose blow will prevent this embarrassing occurrence.

Doing these two things have helped immensely!  The combination of medication, and the neti pot rinse really packs a punch for me.  I am able to continue my daily outdoor walks, and just generally go about life.  I also do other things to help keep allergies at bay: eat healthily, drink lots of water, take many vitamins and supplements, and use saline nasal spray.  While I’m not completely symptom free, it is so much better than in springs past.  It almost makes me feel like dancing ‘The Rite of Spring’.  On second thought, I think I’ll pass on that.  That ballet was about a pagan ritual where a girl dances herself to death.  Maybe a few springtime allergies don’t sound so bad after all!

~Marilyn

For the past week or so here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve have the most spectacularly gorgeous weather!  Atypical brilliant sunshine and warm, balmy temperatures.  The plants are budding, the lawn is growing, and the pollen is flying!  This has created quite a dichotomy in me, and has me a bit befuddled.  It’s weird watching the Winter Olympics when it feels like spring.  Of course, Vancouver B.C. is having the same kind of weather so it makes it even stranger.  It is typical El Nino year weather.

The allergy season has now begun at least 2 months earlier than normal.  The swollen eyes, sinus pressure, sneezing, and skin rashes have made a reappearance in me, as well as a lot of others.  I am hoping that we will get it done and over with now, and won’t have to put up with it again when it actually is spring!  There is always a trade-off, it seems.

I have been taking advantage of the great drying weather by using my clothesline once again.  It feels good to have outdoor-dried laundry…and oh, the sweet smell!  It dries so much faster outside, and gives me a reprieve by ridding my house of the indoor drying racks temporarily.

Still, for those of us who are used to months and months of dark, cloudy, gray, rainy days it is quite a transition.  Some of us don’t know how to react to so much sunshine.  Are we supposed to be all happy now?  We don’t have the excuse of gloomy weather if we are in a grumpy mood!  I have been walking every day… no sitting out for bad weather lately either.

My lawn is growing, well…like a weed.  My neighbors have been out in full force for weeks, mowing their lawns dutifully.  I have managed to elude this by just not mowing quite yet.  I usually enjoy the respite I get in winter from not mowing the lawn.  I am not ready to start the mowing process yet – it’s technically still winter.  So shaggy lawn it is.  Sorry, neighbors!

But this I know for sure – this too, shall pass.  Soon the more typical gray dankness will  envelope us.  So endure the glorious weather for a bit longer?  I guess I must.

~Marilyn

I have been using a neti pot for about a year and a half now.  Practically every day without fail, I prepare the simple solution of non-iodized salt and warm water in my neti pot.  Then I perform the cleansing rinse of the nasal passages by pouring the solution in one nostril and out the other.  It’s weird, to be sure, but I soon got used to it and now I actually look forward to it.  I like having allergens and gunk actually being washed away.

Being a long time sufferer of sinus troubles and allergies, I had been aware of the neti pot for years.  Being pre-internet, and before Oprah and Dr. Oz got on the neti pot bandwagon, I for the life of me couldn’t figure out how to use a neti pot from a book!  So I suffered from chronic sinus infections and terrible allergies come spring and fall.  Dousing myself with allergy medications and trips to the doctor for antibiotics when a sinus infection set in.  Well, thank goodness, there was a resurgence of the neti pot about two years ago.  Dr. Oz demonstrated how to actually use it on the Oprah show.  YouTube videos on it’s use also abounded.  So I purchased one, started using it, and never quit!

The neti pot is actually a Yoga practice that has been around for 5,000 years.  I figure that anything that’s been around that long without negative effects is worth a try.  Not only does it help my allergies immensely, it seems to have a calming effect and I definitely feel cleansed.  I still have my allergies, but I’d say my allergy medication use is down about 75%.  My sinus problems have almost entirely cleared up, with only an occasional sinus headache.

There is a humorous side effect of neti pot use.  Sometimes, hours after using it, when I bend over a flood of water will come rushing out of my nose.  Where has this water been all this time?  In some recess of my brain?  I do have to remember to now, after using it, to bend over and blow all excess solution out of my nose to avoid this.  It happened once when I was at the library bending over to get a book on the shelf…I was madly grabbing for tissue, anything, to stop the flood!

It’s definitely worth spending a few minutes a day performing this age-old practice.  Practically free too.  Incredibly effective…can’t beat that!

Marilyn