Hay fever update — I survived the season and learned lots!
Jun 12th, 2008 by spaceagesage
At the end of March, my hay fever season as hit hard as it has for the last eight years, and the symptoms ran for the usual two months. But this season was different. This time I:
- Rid myself of some major stress
- Watched my diet and stopped drinking coffee
- Took two supplements I knew had been helpful
- Noted what increased my hay fever symptoms, especially subconscious triggers
What a difference it all made! For the first time in 8 years:
- I was not debilitated by constant sneezing, nose blowing, and completely blocked sinuses for two months
- I did not take the usual allergy medications including nasal steroids, decongestants, antihistamines, and sinus headache pain relievers
- I could actually sleep 90 percent of the time without having to breathe through my mouth
Here are my notes:
Rid myself of some major stress
I had been volunteering at a place where my opinions and thoughts had grown in opposition to the admittedly dictatorial leadership there. Freeing myself up from that negative influence helped reboot my sense of self and direction. The renewal helped improve my immune system incredibly.
Watched my diet and stopped drinking coffee
I try to eat pretty well, but this hay fever season I cut down more on sugar and carbs. The biggest factor, though, was dropping the morning coffee. For some reason, my hay fever symptoms drop by 80 percent when I stop drinking coffee.
Took two supplements I knew had been helpful
I have learned over the years that my hay fever is tied to the health and well-being of my intestines. Garlinase is a garlic supplement that digests in the lower intestines, so I don’t get garlic breath. My husband and I swear by it for good digestion and flatter stomachs. Another healthy addition to the flora and fauna of the intestines is a good probiotic product or some form of acidophilus. The probiotics seem to lessen my mucus production.
Noted what increased my hay fever symptoms, especially subconscious triggers
No doubt about it, stress ramped up my hay fever symptoms like crazy, including, visits by certain relatives who are known for being emotionally draining, times when my mom’s worsening memory skills due to Alzheimer’s forced me become more of the mother in our relationship, and when finances or hefty decisions needed to be made. I also caught myself sneezing soon after moments of self doubt or times when I couldn’t see the way out of a situation and felt powerless or hopeless. My hay fever months also come during the anniversaries of some family deaths, including my father’s.
I don’t know if any of this information can help others. Experience has taught me that different things work for different people. To complicate it more, I’ve found even things work differently for my body and mind based on the time of year and the time of day. All I know is that I can now breathe through both nostrils day and night and our once embarrassingly large expenditures for facial tissues has dropped to almost nothing. Woohoo!