Weather is Great! Allergies Not So Much

The warm beautiful Spring weather is FINALLY upon us but with that comes.....(aaahhhh-chooooo) seasonal allergies from ragweed & hay fever.  Ragweed is various types of flowering plants that spread pollen into the atmosphere & make its way up our noses while hay fever is allergic rhinitis aka a runny nose caused from the pollen. Allergies, asthma & eczema all go hand in hand due to their correlation with our Autoimmune system.

Now as a person who's never had allergies before, terms like ragweed & hay fever was basically like speaking Latin to me.  I never paid attention to it at all, I mean I am the type of person who snuggles with a Persian cat & buries my face in her fur, after all. Most people with allergies, especially to pet dander, would find this thought preposterous!

So Tuesday morning I woke up with an itchy scratchy throat. Then red itchy watery eyes. Then a runny nose & sneezing the day away. WTF!  No way I can be sick now, the weather is FINALLY nice!

Well after further investigation aka reading the back of a sample pack of Allegra allergy medicine I had gotten as a sample in the mail (of all places LOL), I realized my doomed fate. I had escaped allergies all my life only to wake up one morning as an adult & have acquired them?!  How the heck is this even possible?

Apparently the percent of allergies in adults is rising.  Previously thought of as a childhood condition, more adults are acquiring allergies, possibly due to not being exposed as children.  A lowered immune system, or sensitivity, can develop as an adult, especially in new environments. And watch out pregnant women of the capital region! They say after having a baby, a woman's risk of getting allergies is much higher. (so you'll be up all night not only breastfeeding, but sneezing & blowing your nose as well).

So does this mean I am confined to the indoors? Will I miss Tulip Fest in Albany's Washington Park on May 11th &12th because the pollen of all those tulips will drive my nose into a frenzy?!

Needless to say, I have been & will be, popping those pills like candy & bought like 3 boxes of tissues. (I am such a drama queen).  Now I shared this story with all of you on air & with my girl Wonderwoman as well. And guess what? She too is mother natures newest victim of acquiring allergies as an adult. She's been sneezing all week too!  Good Lord can we get a break please?!

AAAAAHHHH-CHOOOOO! (gesundheit!)