Week 45: Ugh, Allergies. (What Am I Allergic to?)
I don’t think you’ll care about my allergies, albeit, I’m back on a roll and doing my best to continue posting in Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge Blog Hop, so I’m responding to this topic. Our hashtag is #MFRWauthor.
I’ll mention the normal ones first. The ones that aren’t life-threatening. Simply, I’m allergic to spring and fall. Our autumns seem to be lasting longer. As we speak, leaves are falling all around and getting moldy on the ground from lots of rain. I’m allergic to mold, too. These are allergies I’ve learned to deal with until I get a sinus infection. Eww. Then my head gets spacey, hurts, I feel like I’m falling over, and sometimes I get BPPV vertigo. Before ever hearing about vertigo, I had numerous tests done to learn why I kept getting dizzy. No reasons were ever found. Thankfully.
Vertigo happens when the crystals in your ears move away from where they should be.
My type of vertigo is:
BPPV. These initials stand for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. BPPV occurs when tiny calcium particles (canaliths) clump up in canals of the inner ear. The inner ear sends signals to the brain about head and body movements relative to gravity. It helps you keep your balance. WebMD
At the above link, WebMD writes about other causes, too. Check with your doctor before trying to treat yourself.
A simple exercise gets those crystals back in place with this kind of vertigo:
Canalith repositioning maneuvers. Guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology recommend a series of specific head and body movements for BPPV. The movements are done to move the calcium deposits out of the canal into an inner ear chamber so they can be absorbed by the body. You will likely have vertigo symptoms during the procedure as the canaliths move. A doctor or physical therapist can guide you through the movements. The movements are safe and often effective. WebMD
Disclaimer: The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to his or her health.
My doctor printed off a sheet of instructions for me. Here’s the procedure (BPPV) on You Tube. I often have to do these more than once. This exercise works for me. Before learning about the exercises, I’d take the drug, Antivert for more than a week before the world stopped spinning.
But there is one big allergy that scares the daylights out of me—a life-threatening allergy. This is a contrast dye used for a heart test I had done. Of course, I found this out the hard way a few years ago while in the Emergency Room. I thought I had died–after the fact. It started with severe itching over my entire body, even my tongue. While I went into anaphylactic shock, I had no idea that I had passed out until I came to. I would’ve died peacefully.
To wrap up this post, I have seasonal allergies, plus a bunch of other ones like duck feathers, a few I can’t think of, and Kapok– A mass of silky fibers that surrounds the seeds of the kapok tree and are used especially as a filling for mattresses, pillows, life preservers, and sleeping bags and as insulation. Merriam Webster.
That’s all for now. Thanks for visiting!
This is a blog hop. I wonder what my fellow writers are allergic to. We can all find out by clicking HERE.
WordPress notified me that it’s my eleventh WordPress anniversary. It’s hard to believe I’ve had this blog for that long. Growing this blog has been and still is a slow go, but I have no plans on giving up except while completing a book or getting ready to publish. I hope WordPress doesn’t mind that I used their logo.
Pictures are from Pixabay except for the WordPress Logo and the 52-Week Challenge image.
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel 
17 thoughts on “#AmWriting Blog Hop Challenge Week 45: Allergies, Oh, My! #MFRWauthor”
Pingback: Week 21: UGH, Allergies! #MFRWauthor #WritersLife | Mary J. McCoy-Dressel Books
Abhijeet Singh
so much informative content mary. sometimes it is difficult to fight with the allergy when you don’t diagnose it properly even after so many tests as well as if allergy relates to the food you eat you don’t even know about the ingredients used or in other case when you want to eat your favorite dish and it gives you allergy. it is hard that time. 🙂
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Thank you. You are correct about the food allergies. I had testing done a long time ago. I’m glad I don’t have to worry too much about food allergies, but the contrast dye is one I’ll never forget.
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Teagan R. Geneviene
Mary I feel you on the allergies. I have had anaphylactic to bee stings, and to sulfa drugs. (And I’m allergic to something in the epi pen.) Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, there’s nothing funny about your face swelling up…
Great big hug!
I remember your vertigo. I hope you aren’t troubled with it again. Great that you found a helpful exercise though.
I’m allergic to everything… I’d volunteer to colonize the moon, but I’m allergic to dust too.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Ugh, I don’t know what they’d do with a bee sting if you’re allergic to an epi pen. Goodness! That’s scary. Oh, moon dust would not be good. Just think of the research for your books, though. 🙂
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Teagan R. Geneviene
Happy 11th Blog-iversary. You’re amazing, Mary.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Thanks, Teagan. Not sure amazing is the right word, but I’m glad you think so. Much appreciated. I can’t believe it’s been that long. 🙂
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Cathy Brockman
Happy WordPress Anniversary! Allergies such. Especially that one one the contrast die! That’s super scary!
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Thanks for the anniversary thoughts Cathy. Time flies! 🙂 Yes, the contrast allergy is very frightening. I put it in my phone under Emergency Info. I hope someone looks if the need ever arises.
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henhousepublishing
I refuse to eat almost anything with mayonnaise. When I place an order “without mayo,” people ask me if I’m allergic. Nope. I just don’t like mayo.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
My youngest son does the same thing. He isn’t allergic, either.
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Helen Henderson
Vertigo is the worst. If I want to feel drunk I want to at least have a good time first. 😦 They never figured out what causes mine either.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
I know, Helen. It’s a combination of thinking you’ve lost your mind or you’re having a stroke. The last time, my son took me to the ER because he was afraid I was, and I wasn’t sure!
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D. Wallace Peach
Ugh, Mary. What a nuisance, in general, and how frightening when it comes to your more serious allergies. I’ve been fortunate that I’m allergy-free, but I tell everyone I’m allergic to lima beans so I don’t have to eat them. 🙂
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
I know a lot of people who don’t like lima beans, Diana. I tell my doctors I’m allergic to a particular antibiotic because it gives me severe abdominal cramps. They want me to elaborate so I have to explain that it isn’t really an allergy. Or, is it? Shrugging.
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D. Wallace Peach
I could be. I hope your allergies calm down soon as we slide into winter.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
We’ve already had a frost so I hope so too. They’re still bad. Thanks, Diana.
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