Allergies!

[johnnystorm]

I've had the hay fever type allergies since I was a kid- I use a prescription medicine for it. The cut grass & pollen are really bad. I've read that with all the earlier warm weather & changing weather patterns we've had the past few years that some plants come into season earlier, and start overlapping with the regular stuff, thereby increasing the amount & types of pollen that are out there.

[palitoy]

Someone once mentioned to me that if you have a local Farmer's Market, buy a jar of Locally Harvested Bee Honey and take a spoonful a day...sounds logical, but I don't know if there is any science behind it.

The psuedo science behind it is almost like an allergy shot, the bees use the pollen local to you, by ingesting the honey you become immune to it. Your body is mistaking pollen for an airborne toxin, which is why you begin to weep/sneeze in the first place.

I don't like honey so I've never done it but I have friends who swear by it.

Fresh cut grass makes me crazy, I rarely mow.

[boynightwing]

Allergies can come out of nowhere. My mother ate kiwi fruit her whole life, then about 15 years ago she ate one at a teachers conference and it almost killed her. Could kill her if she ever has one again. She got retested and found she's allergic to a crazy amount of stuff that she never used to be allergic to. Its drastically altered her diet.

Myself, I'm already allergic to a number of things. Grass, pollen, dust, weeds, dogs, cats, pretty much any animal with fur, the list goes on. In the past 10 years I've even developed asthma.

In high school I had to get 2 shots every week. One in each arm. I've since stopped getting them because the nurse once gave me an overdose by accident and it scared the hell out of me.

What I find works best for me is Benadryll. I prefer the liquid stuff even though it tastes gross. I just think it works faster then the pill. However the stuff will make you drowsy. On those rare occasions where I can't fall asleep, a tee spoon of that will do the trick.

I always have tissue on me somewhere for emergencies. My friends say its my mutant power to always have one.

[Mawni]

I heard this story on NPR about a guy that infected himself with hookworms and now he has no allergies or asthma.

[Nostalgiabuff]

I had allergies for the first time this year too Anthony. I heard on the news this year has been one of the worst on record. All of a sudden it was like a major head cold. passed in 2 days but now when ever I cut the grass the nose is like a faucet and the eyes are itchy and watery. it sucks. I used a prescription decongestant my wife had. it helped. try clariton, i hear good things about it but have not tried it

[Brazoo]

I heard this story on NPR about a guy that infected himself with hookworms and now he has no allergies or asthma.

Yeah - I heard this on the Radiolab "parasites" podcast.

Interesting stuff. I think he also said people suffering from MS and crohn's disease also benefited from exposure to hookworms as well. The theory presented on the show, as I understood it, was that the parasites have co-evolved with their hosts (in this case humans) in a mutually beneficial way. The hookworms actually help moderate the immune system. There were no medical studies at the time of the show though. It would be interesting to see some.

[Hector]

I'm really allergic to certain trees and grass pollen, feathers...and cats.

[AJ Collector]

Picked up some good stuff guys...... Thanks!