Allergies

For years, I've said that I get a cold about once every five years. That seems like a pretty good record, so I'm not complaining. I would sometimes go to the doctor only to hear allergies, and I always thought it meant you look fine to me. Well, I was wrong. Last time I "caught a cold," I remember thinking Oh no, not again when it went to my throat. So I started searching the web: If there is no fever, if the mucous secretions are clear and if sneezes occur in rapid, multiple sequence, an allergy is almost certainly involved. OK, that describes "my typical cold" to a tee! I sneeze in threes, the nose runs clear, and I'm otherwise fine. (Here's another symptom list.)

So it's allergies, and I could have prevented most of the "colds" I've had! That's annoying. So this time I'm taking decongestants when I think the post-nasal drip wants to give me a sore throat. The problem is that chlorpheniramine makes my head stuffy, so I can't take it consistently, but it's the most effective. I tried montelukast (Singulair) but it's not as strong as my runny nose. I couldn't even tell that loratadine (Claritin) did anything! So I'm limping along, taking chlorpheniramine when I can't stand it anymore. My desperate plan, if the nose gets worse, is to try promethazine (Phenergan), but I really don't like the warnings, and I can't believe a drug prescribed for morning sickness has that many warnings!

According to Pollen.com, the major irritants right now are oak, birch, and cedar / juniper. We don't have any of those in the yard, although we do have pollen bombs (those strands of pollen grains) everywhere. Apparently pine is copious, but not as allergenic. The ragweed hasn't kicked in yet, and I think I'll scour the yard before it flowers! At least this is a record pollen year with almost double the usual amount of pollen, and that probably explains why I average once every five years for these bad bouts.

So I've learned that my traditional three-sneezes-in-a-row with clear nasal drainage means allergies (and I never listened), and I haven't found the right decongestant yet to clear my nose without clogging my head.