I began to suffer from allergies as a child. When spending the night with a friend who owned a cat, I awoke the next day to swollen eyes and a very runny nose. As a teen, I recall going to the school nurse's office for ice, and then heading to lie in the air conditioned theater at school; we didn't have air conditioning in classrooms. Every spring from then on brought a time of major discomfort. My mother took me to the doctor who said I could have testing done, but they would stick me with a bunch of needles and it really wasn't worth it. So, I suffered.
Oh my gosh! I am struggling so much with my allergies. Are you? You know, those pesky allergies that usually go away during the winter after we’ve experienced a long, hard freeze. This winter we love the higher temperatures, but for allergy sufferers, our noses are either clogged or dripping. I am at a total loss as to what to take and have been on one antibiotic after another only to find out that it’s just my allergies. Just my allergies! Just! For the sufferer, that’s a pain in the nose, head, and neck.
There are some things we take for granted until we no longer have access to them, like the act of breathing. Turns out, it is somewhat of an important function. On an average, we take anywhere from 17,280 - 23,040 breaths per day. At various times, we hold our breath, take a deep breath, and are left breathless. We worry about bad breath, and can love or hate something with every breath in our body. Breathing is currency to living, and apparently…my account has run a little low.
It appears spring has indeed sprung. Though the Vernal Equinox is still a week away, you could have fooled the birds, who are already chirping away in the unseasonably warm March air. True to form, the flora and fauna are springing back to life after their winter dormancy. With the welcome temperatures and the greening of the landscape, comes another beacon of spring—allergy season.
And like spring itself, it’s well ahead of schedule.
I have read that the last several years have been particularly bad for seasonal allergy sufferers, with pollen levels at all-time high recorded levels. Why? It seems to be due to a variety of environmental issues; warmer climate world-wide, overplanting of some plants, etc. The famous Dr.
How Much is that Doggy... Going to Cost My Allergies?
The desire to bring a dog into my family has always been there despite having discovered that I couldn’t breathe upon picking up a puppy in the second grade (which led to a diagnosis of asthma). I have always loved animals but they have not really loved me back so well. Not only have I been known to have trouble breathing, but also to break out in hives and terribly red itchy eyes. So, whenever the thought of bringing a canine companion into our home came to mind, I usually would dismiss it reluctantly, convinced that it was never to be for me.
