SEVERE seasonal allergies

[nomadsindiansaints]

I've had SEVERE seasonal allergies all my life.  I'm also celiac but have been GF for years and years, no lingering digestive symptoms at all now.  No symptoms of yeast issues.  I have oral allergy syndrome, but the severity of the reactions wax and wane depending on how hyped up my immune system is at the time.  Kind of an inconvenience, but usually not a big deal if I avoid a few specific foods.  No eczema, rarely get sick, overall in good health.

BUT THE SPRING ALLERGIES ARE KILLING ME!  

I don't want to whine ad nauseum, but the symptoms are SEVERE and don't stop.  Zyrtec or Claritin knocks it down so that I can function but I'm still sneezing and itching constantly.  I wake up w/ my eyes glued shut and sinuses full and have to take a hot hot shower immediately or I'll start puking from drainage.

It doesn't help that I live in NC (pollen hell) with a yard full of huge gorgeous oak trees surrounded by woods and grasses.  Also no central air so either the house is super hot or the windows have to stay open.  As far as my immune system is concerned, I live outside, and we're starting up a small farm so I spend hours outside all day.

I don't know what to do, and I almost started crying tonight to my DP b/c I'm so miserable.  Everything is so beautiful and green and lush and I want to enjoy it with my kids, but I'm too busy sneezing and itching, even while medicated.  Every spring is like this, but I really really can't handle it anymore. 

I can't use a neti pot (every time I've tried I end up w/ a serious sinus infection) though I do clean out my sinuses in the shower every morning.  I have a ton of random tricks that stop the sneezing/itching for brief spurts - everything from a half shot of whiskey (the burn takes the itch away) to sucking on a spoonful of ascorbic acid crystals (!!!!) to dark sunglasses when I'm driving (sunshine makes me sneeze more).  

I HEPA-vac where there's carpet almost daily.  Change my sheets frequently.  I take kick-ass raw organic antioxidant supplements and several forms of vit C every day, sometimes nettles, and a bunch of other foundational stuff.  Doesn't seem to make any difference.

Now that DS is getting bigger, I finally have the time to work on my health again on a deeper level (chelation is one of the things on my list, after I get the last 3 fillings replaced) and I'd love any natural suggestions that might help me prepare for next year, but more than anything I need help with NOW, natural or not.

I can't live like this for 2 more months.

I'm having fantasies about cortisone shots.

[SweetSilver]

I hate it just when the weather gets nice that the windows have to start being shut!  I live in the NW, so summers are not hot and humid.  I also can't stand having the windows closed, but every May...

    I have found that keeping my bedroom windows shut, and the b. r. door shut (adjoining bath window is cracked) I can cut down on pollen in that room, while leaving the rest of the house open more often.  Closing the windows for the morning, when the evaporating dew lifts grass pollen up in smokey drifts... then again in the evening when the wind picks up.  Learn a new trick every day.  The windows get opened wide for rainy weather, which is rarer in the summer here than most people think.

     Shower before bed, especially HAIR.  Heck, shower in the morning, too.  And (this is hard) NO LINE-DRYING YOUR SHEETS AND CLOTHES during allergy season!  Which happens to be the only time to hang laundry where I live.  It's too bad that the neti pot is not an option.  But to make you feel better, I find using it more often than every few days makes my nose run more, but i lose the clear breathing and the heightened energy it gives me.

     I can't help with anything else.  I can never keep up on taking supplements or whatever, and allergy meds make me feel like my body is still fighting, but I've lost the tools it has to get it OUT of my lungs.  Lots and lots of wet-downs, hanky in my pocket, and the occasional loratadine for when I'm visiting friends with acres of reed canary grass blooming high over my head.  Somehow i think eating grapefruit helps me, but it could be that it's zingy and yummy and nothing else.  Maybe it's related to your ascorbic acid trick?  Hmmmm.....

[SweetSilver]

I nearly forgot two useful suggestions.  When I'm outside with the girls, I often wear a silk face mask, one you can buy from allergy supply companies (I bought mine through National Allergy, not an endorsement necessarily, but we've never had trouble).  They are a bit stifling and don't help with the eyes, but they really help.  I feel a bit self-conscious wearing it, but the kids understand.  And really, is it any worse that sneezing so loud and hard and long you pee your pants?

     The next suggestion will awaken your inner Pooh-bear:  local honey.  SUPPOSEDLEY it works like immunotherapy.  Take 1/4 tsp daily.  I usually down a big gallolop instead, but maybe that's too much.  Does it work?  I don't really care.  It is one daily "supplement" I will never forget.  

[colleentara]

I can completely understand. I,too have had severe allergies all my life and they are so debilitating!!! I have gone through NAET treatments (which did get rid of my allergies for about 5 years) but they are back and NAET is expensive.

This is what I'm trying now-- the GAPS diet. Have you checked it out? I'm breastfeeding and found it b/c my baby clearly reacts to foods I eat...so I'm trying to heal his gut and mine....and therefore the allergies. I won't be able to do the most intense part of the diet until I'm finished nursing, but i am confident that it will work eventually. I just don't know if I can make it that long! As I type, I am having a huge allergy attack.

With your mention of celiac, I think that the GAPS diet would be a good match for you. You can find info by googling it.

also-- I love your shot of whiskey advice! I'm going to have to try that :)

[colleentara]

also forgot to mention that even if you don't have 'lingering digestive issues' that are obvious (I've never had digestive issues)...allergies are related to the intestines...according to the Dr. that came up with GAPS. *(%$, I'll do almost anything to get rid of allergies and enjoy life again. For me, they've turned into year-round (rather than seasonal) allergies.

[<3mymom]

Just another suggestions since you mentioned waking up with terrible allergy symptoms, I always take a benadryl before I go to bed during bad allergy times, I know it seems like a lot on top of daily zyrtec but I find that it helps me to not wake up with severe allergy symptoms. I also try really hard to keep the area I sleep in clean and free from clutter that could collect allergens. I know that isn't always feasible but I have found that it helps.