Ahhhhhhh CHOO!!!

Every year around this time, Oak trees bloom and there is yellow pollen everywhere in Florida. There are other pollens and molds too but it seems that the Oaks are the ones that make my life miserable. Watery eyes, itchy running nose, cough, and urticaria (skin rashes), post nasal drip and bronchitis. The list of nasty symptoms goes on. And I am not ALONE in this, millions of us suffer. Last year I finally got control of the situation with the help of Ear Nose and Throat and Pulmonary specialists. I was given prescription medicines and over the counter recommendations. Eventually, and not just because the pollen went away, I got a lot of relief.

Let me share with you the things that I learned. First of all, mechanical irrigation of my nose and sinuses with stuff I could buy at my local Walgreen's was best. I got some OCEAN nasal spray. It is just salt water in a spray bottle and it helps to wash away the pollen and keeps things from getting all clogged up and dry. There is also a little tea-pot thing, but I did not buy that. Over the counter non-drowsy antihistamines helped but they had a dark side... drying out my nose and throat. So I took some other stuff with them, Mucinex, which liquifies mucus, hence the name. It is non- prescription. I was told to take 1200 mg size. Another recommendation for Zyrtec could replace Claritin... my choice. I preferred the Claritin and never felt drowsy, but it could be different for you so be careful when operating heavy machinery signing contracts or whatever. These products were pretty cheap and readily available.

Now comes the heavy artillery. Since a bad case of sinusitis feels like someone is pumping up your sinuses with an air pump and your head is about to explode, you have to allow that pressure to be relieved. If you stayed ahead of the symptoms with the Ocean and the antihistamine etc, you may not get this far but if you do, a doctor can prescribe some anti-inflammatory steroid for you to shrink the membranes and allow drainage. I took Fluticasone spray and it worked like a charm. Other sprays like Afrin are helpful for a day or two but after that they cause rebound and actually make things worse. Unfortunately the steroid spray can't be bought here without an Rx and going to Mexico to get it over the counter might lead to other problems like getting shot. Anyhow, this is a mainstay of ENT doctors and it works. Antibiotics seem like the thing to do as this feels like an "infection" but probably is not. In my case they were tried and were useless.

In summary.... get out IN FRONT of sinusitis and allergy. Once it gets too well established it is a female dog to get over. STAY INDOORS as much as you can, use your Air Conditioner. Leave the open JEEP in the garage and start moisturizing and washing out your nose early with Ocean or the generic versions found in CVS and Walgreens. You can make your own if you look online. Gezuntheit in advance.