does anyone feel like allergies is ruining their life?

[heatherwayno]

I have several allergies- the worst being dust mites and for some reason cola and coffee. I have to avoid cola and coffee at all costs which is annoying becasue I love it but not too bad. Anyone else have that problem?

Anyhow- sometimes my dust mite allergy can be so bad that I have constant sneezing/nasal drip, and extreme fatigue. The only thing that really works is benadryl which totally KNOCKS me out. I feel guilty because some days they really affect my relationship with hubby and 4 kids. I used to think allergies was just sneezing and a little running nose- boy I wish it were that simple :-o

 

[rocklife]

I had severe sneezing and runny nose for months on end every winter. I started using Purell and those kind of hand sanitizers for the last year and really washed my hands very frequently, and I haven't gotten sick anymore. I can't believe what a huge difference that stuff has made. I also read somewhere dust and allergens often do cling to our hands more than we realize. I Purell all the time now, McDonald's, in the morning, anytime I'm about to eat or wash my face. IT has made a HUGE difference for me. I'm recommending it to anyone with allergy problems.

you can get a small bottle of the stuff, then also get a big bottle (which is cheaper in bulk), then refill the small one when you run out with the other bottle, so you can carry it around easy. just don't splash it around because it can stain clothes.

 

[heatherwayno]

thanks- I never would have imagined that would help!

 

[Booko]

I have several allergies- the worst being dust mites and for some reason cola and coffee. I have to avoid cola and coffee at all costs which is annoying becasue I love it but not too bad. Anyone else have that problem?

Not those particularly. I have other issues.

I will say this though -- our son had problems with airborne allergies and even though we live in Georgia, where spring is awful for pollen allergies (3000+ pollen counts are normal in March/April), when we removed the carpet from his bedroom they mysteriously went away.

I'm systematically removing all my wall-to-wall carpet and am now down to just a little in the living room. If I can't afford a wood floor sometime this year I swear I'll just paint the darned subfloor. Area rugs seem to be okay, because they can be removed and cleaned *throughly* at the dry cleaners.

I can't drink cola or any soft drinks pretty much because of the corn allergy. I'm glad I can still have my coffee, but if I had to switch to tea I'd be fine with that too.

Anyhow- sometimes my dust mite allergy can be so bad that I have constant sneezing/nasal drip, and extreme fatigue. The only thing that really works is benadryl which totally KNOCKS me out. I feel guilty because some days they really affect my relationship with hubby and 4 kids. I used to think allergies was just sneezing and a little running nose- boy I wish it were that simple :-o

Consider purchasing a really top notch air purifier. Oreck has an okay one but mine totally blows it away. It's made by EcoQuest. The company can probably put you in touch with a distributer who will let you use one for 30 days to see if it will work for you -- no strings attached.

I have four (4!) cats and with this one air purifier I can have my neighbor over, who is allergic to cats, and she doesn't even sneeze once. It's just that good.

Also, consider looking at the cleaning products you use. Often with someone who's got a sensitivity to other airborne items, a toxic cleaning solution can irritate the problem even more. Pay no attention to whether it says "non-toxic" on the label. That's a meaningless term and is totally unregulated. I could put "non-toxic" on hydrochloric acid legally, but I wouldn't suggest anyone try drinking any...

You can do almost all your cleaning with white vinegar, baking soda, borax and salt, not to mention the usual soap and water. It's cheaper, safer and will not offgas things to irritate your condition.

Oh, one last thing -- if you have particle board in the house, consider ditching that too, unless it's already pretty old. IKEA products don't seem to give people problems with offgassing, presumeably because Europeans are stricter about toxic chemicals, but the stuff made in the US...uh no, that gives many people problems.

 

[Booko]

I had severe sneezing and runny nose for months on end every winter. I started using Purell and those kind of hand sanitizers for the last year and really washed my hands very frequently, and I haven't gotten sick anymore. I can't believe what a huge difference that stuff has made. I also read somewhere dust and allergens often do cling to our hands more than we realize. I Purell all the time now, McDonald's, in the morning, anytime I'm about to eat or wash my face. IT has made a HUGE difference for me. I'm recommending it to anyone with allergy problems.

you can get a small bottle of the stuff, then also get a big bottle (which is cheaper in bulk), then refill the small one when you run out with the other bottle, so you can carry it around easy. just don't splash it around because it can stain clothes.

A couple of caveats about Purell:

People with corn allergy should NOT use it, because the ethyl alcohol is made from corn.

Children should not use it because it's mostly ethyl alcohol, and yes it's absorbed through the skin. The American Pediatric Society put out a warning about that this past winter.

 

[KCguy217]

Here's something I have heard to help minimize allergies or even get rid of them all together...
I haven't tried this personally, but I know people who say it works.
Take your weight, divide that in half, and whatever that half number is, that's how many ounces of water you should drink daily.
Example: I weigh about 145, 145 divided in half is 72.5, so I should drink 72.5 ounces of water a day.
Give that a try and see if it works for you.

 

[kevin10]

I have allegies all year,they stink..

 

[stephen c]

Here's an easy experiment. Not only for allergies, but also joint pain, arthritis, auto immune diseases, etc.

Try eliminating dairy products and refined sugars for ten days and see what happens.