Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

#MFRWauthor Week 21: Allergies:

How to endure them without suffering overmuch?

Here we are with week twenty-one of the 52-Week Blog Challenge Blog Hop, and the perfect time to talk about allergies, er, well, if you have seasonal allergies. I wrote about allergies in a previous post similar to this one. Sorry, blog followers and friends for the similar topic, but this one asks us how we endure without suffering overmuch.

With tons of food or products to be allergic to, everyone on this earth must be allergic to something. Me? Seasonal allergies among a few others like *Kapok, a filler in comforters, pillows, and some furniture, for example. Trees, and duck feathers too.

I can control the filler and duck feather allergies by reading labels. Oh, and by staying away from ducks. bada bing

Spring and fall is an awful time for me and out of my control other than to take medication. The other day my maintenance man had to come into my apartment. He sniffled and coughed a lot. I asked if he had pneumonia again because he had it this winter. He said, “No, seasonal allergies.” We both said UGH.  I told him I used a prescription allergy nasal spray, and it worked wonders.

Years ago after allergy tests, I’d get allergy shots, but I didn’t keep them up. For the past three or four years, I’ve endured seasonal allergies by using prescription medication. I see no reason to suffer needlessly when there are medications. This, after suffering most of my life with non-prescription remedies.

However, I have a life-threatening allergy too. It’s an allergy to a contrast dye used for heart tests. Sometimes we don’t know we are allergic until a product is given to us. I thought I had died seconds after the contrast entered my body. I broke out in a rash almost immediately, beginning with intense itching all over my body. Even my tongue and inside my mouth! Try scratching the inside of your mouth with an itchy tongue.

I remember asking if itching was a side effect. The tech who administered the contrast, said, “No. Why?” I showed her my hands which had become one big red rash. They gave me Benadryl. Then I had an anaphylactic reaction and remember nothing from that point on. I came to, hearing the tech say ‘her blood pressure is up to 40/20.’ UP TO? The good thing is, I didn’t have a heart problem.

Since I went through this experience, I’m afraid to take a new medication. What if I’m home alone and have the same thing happen? Am I going to die from anaphylactic shock? To endure this, I try to have someone with me if I take a new drug, but it’s frightening, and I can’t always have someone with me.

The way I endure the allergy to contrast dye is by NOT using it again. This allergy is in my medical records now and in the Emergency section of my phone.

Does your phone have an Emergency Info section to list medical issues? Mine is under Contacts. My family all know, but can they help when they live thousands of miles away? (Hey, crime writers, there’s an idea for your next plot.)

Will a cop or Emergency Medical Technician look at my phone? Chances are, the first thing they’d want to do in the ER is run heart tests. My best bet is to keep my heart healthy. I don’t know what else they use this contrast for. It isn’t the same as the contrast they use for a CAT Scan because I’ve had them before.

What about you guys and gals? How do you endure allergies without suffering too much?

Blog readers, you can find out how others endure their allergies at this LINK. We might find a new cure, but always check with your doctor before trying anything new.

Thanks for your visit today. Enjoy your weekend!

It’s Memorial Day Weekend in the US. Please be safe.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering and honoring people who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The holiday, which is currently observed every year on the last Monday of May. ~Wikipedia

*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.