Allergy thread: what are you allergic to and how do you deal?

[liamsaunt]

I am allergic to most animals, as well as mold, dust, pollen, etc. My allergies are pretty much year round. Like some other posters, people often ask me if I have a cold. Nope, just allergic to the world! My only food allergy is kiwi--it gives me hives in my mouth and makes my tounge swell up.

Right now I take a claritin every morning, and a sudafed or two if I am having a particualrly bad allergy day. I try not to take sudafed because it makes my heart race. I use visine ac for itchy eyes, benadryl at night if I have to, and I have a prescription inhaler for if I get into real trouble. I hate to use it though, because it makes my whole body shake for about 15 minutes after using it.

In addition to the medications, my strategies are to avoid animals--especially cats, and my husband pays to have someone come in to clean the house so I am not exposed to the dust and cleaning chemical fumes. The housecleaner is the best--probably the only--benefit from having allergies.

This thread actually reminded me that I forgot to take my claritin this morning!

 

[Pakey]

Year round allergies to dust, mold, pets, smoke, scents, pollen, etc. Because I live in a city with the 2nd worst air quality in the United States, my problems get worse and worse as I get older. My husband and I will relocate, leaving our adult children behind, when I retire just for some relief.

I have all hard surfaces in my house, no carpeting, no fabric window coverings, etc. I have the pillow and mattress covers to reduce dust mites.

I have hairless dogs.

I have an air purifiers.

I never burn candles, wear perfume, allow my husband to wear cologne, etc.

I only go outside when absolutely necessary.

 

[Wall-E1]

I have several allergies. When I had the patch test done, my body lit up like a pinball machine. I'm allergic to trees, flowers, dust mites, etc. Fortunately, I'm not allergic to any foods or medication. My biggest allergies are to cats/dogs and grass. I was positive for every single grass they injected me with.

My allergies all came to a head a few years ago. We took in two cats and I found that I couldn't breathe in my own house. I was pulling muscles from terrible sneezing fits. It was painful. I explained to my son that I was suffering and that the cats and I could not live under the same roof. My son went into our storage closet, pulled out a suitcase, and offered to help me pack(nice to know where I stand in our family). As a last ditch effort, I went for a patch test and began allergy shots. It's now been about three years and the shots have made me 100 times better. I get three shots each visit for my various allergies. I started out getting shots twice a week, but now I'm down to once a month. I still occasionally get itchy, watery eyes if I play with the cats, but the sneezing fits are completely gone. Also, being outdoors is much better for me. So, for me the shots are what did it. Before the shots, I had tried the various allergy pills, but they did not make much of a difference.

 

[kayla87]

latex-free adhesive (in bandages). I don't know why but it reacts to my skin worse than regular adhesive. The area around my boo-boo always looks worse than the boo-boo itself!

Me too! Actually, I think I'm most sensitive to Walgreen's brand bandages. I recently burned my arm pretty badly on the oven, and Walgreen's brand was the only bandage the big enough to cover it. Now, I have two scars on my arm healing - one from the burn, the other from the bandage.

I haven't looked at my allergy test in years, but I'm mostly allergic to feathers, cockroaches, and mold. Then I'm a little allergic to dust, dogs, and outdoor stuff like pollens. I used to be the worst in the fall (when everything is on the ground dying=molding), but now I pretty much suffer year round. Nothing too terrible - allergic rhinitis, post nasal drip, swollen septum, exhaustion.

I take Zytrec daily (other pills are like sugar pills for me). I also have a Nasonex prescription which I use as needed. I used to use Nasacort but my current insurance doesn't cover it. I've tried Rhinocort in the past, but don't like it. Otherwise, I basically just deal with it - I always make sure I have access to tissues wherever I go, because I use them like crazy.

My husband also suffers from allergies, and basically neither of us should ever mow the lawn. (For me personally because it stirs up mold.) Wearing dust masks helps, though they are annoying to wear. Recently, my hubby wore one while he was doing a thorough vacuum of the house

 

[kimblebee]

When my throat closes I do go to the ER and they give me a shot of adrenaline and that makes it eventually go away. It's pretty scary when it happens so I am really, really careful when eating new foods. I forgot to add that I am also allergic to codeine so no T3's for me.

 

[Plannin'Shannon]

I'm allergic to cats and wool. I completely avoid both. I've also had bad reactions to some perfumes, so I try to steer clear of them too.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

Im alerigic to paypa, seafood, calamari, and dust. Im also alerigic to smoke, some scents, and milk. Right now im in pain, waiting for the meds to kick in cause I had to go three rounds with the contents of the dust buster looking for the f8 key from the computer, but thats another thread.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I am allergic to:

cats
grass (the type on the ground)
Sulfa drugs
generic drug fillers

I have a high sensitivity to:

eggs (cooked in a recipe I am usually okay, fried/scrambled - I have a reaction)
Flu Shot - because of the egg sensitivity

As I get older, I have been having more and more problems with different medications that the drs. give me. Not sure if the companies are putting really cheap fillers in now or if my body is starting to reject them...

 

[MM27]

I'm allergic to cats. My sil used to breed Himalayan cats and had many of them in their house at a time. I would try to avoid going there whenever possible, but if I really needed to go, like at holiday time, I would take Benadryl beforehand. My eyes still watered and I still sneezed, but it wasn't as bad as without.

I also have seasonal allergies that I just take an OTC medication for.

I don't know if it's an allergy or not, but I always get a rash when I wear necklaces or earrings. I guess it's something in the gold or silver because it happens with both.