Best/worst places for allergies

[TurboBoysMom]

Dont move to RIchmond VA if your looking to get away form allergies. We moved here from Florida and have never had allergies. My 5 yr old has barely had colds before and hes been on antibiotics for 8 months with one thing or another from all of this junk here. We finally figured out what kind of doctor to take him to and hes now on Rhinocort, Claritin AND Singulair. Im next to go to the allergist. My turn....

[ogopogo17]

Natopheli -- as far as the irrigation, I have this "irrigator" that kind of looks like a flower watering pot if you ask me.. it's supposed to be designed for sinus irrigation. Basically, you pour it in one nostril and it's supposed to flow out the other.. it's the flowing out the other that won't work. It seems to get blocked before that. I've had a CT scan, and I don't have polyps or anything that abonormal other than a recurring sinusitis that will go away, but come back soon after. I haven't tried half of the Zyrtec.. one other thing that might help is taking it at night instead of the morning.. perhaps the drowsiness would wear off? Maybe wishful thinking, I don't know! I've tried Rhinocort AQ.. it didn't do much for me. When I was living in Colorado and Nebraska, Beconase (this was before Flonase, Rhinocort, Nasonex came out) basically cured my seasonal allergies. But here in the jungles of Minnesota (trees and weeds everywhere!), nothing has helped -- I even got a prescription for Beconase, even though it's the "last generation" of nasal sprays, just to see if it would help... it did nothing. I'm starting to realize for people with bad mold allergies, the West may be the place to be. Plus the smoke-free indoor air of California is big for me.. my worst allergy is cigarette smoke.

Turboboysmom.. have you figured out what he's allergic to? What differences do you notice in the terrain there from Florida, in terms of types of trees, weeds, etc? Also... just thinking here, but are you on a lot with a lot of trees? Our house in Minnesota is buried in trees.. not good for pollen or leaf mold at all. We need snow!! I mean, it's Thanksgiving in Minnesota, and we're walking around without jackets, unbelievable! :-) Good luck.. I know what that is like (being sick all the time), it's not fun.

[This message has been edited by ogopogo17 (edited 11-21-2001).]

[Natopheli]

I've been told that the drowsiness does wear off after a little while. I don't think I had a problem with that at first so I can't tell you any more than that!
As for trying to get the water to flow out the other side, it hasn't been a consideration for me at all. Most of it I spit out or it goes back out the same nostril. I know I've read things from other people saying that it works better for them if they don't worry about it going out the opposite nostril. You could try using a big spoon and just letting the water come out however? Just so long as it all comes out Let me know what's going on!
Nat

[mikeb]

ogopogo17

My 2 cents:

I've been using irrigation for a short time now. I got a set of instructions from my doctor on this technique.

1. Keep your head level (dont look up or down)
2. Use an ear syringe and warm salt water
(point the syringe straight in toward the back
of your head, not up toward the brain)
3. Hold your breath and slowly squeeze a syringe full
of saltwater into each nostril alternately.
It should pass through your nose and fall onto
the back of your tongue. (dont swallow saltwater)
4. Do one to two cups a day
(with practice youll be able to increase the force
and amount of water through your nose)

(also, I find this procedure alot easier to do in
the shower as opposed to over the sink)

The water is supposed to fall onto the pallete but I've found that most of it just comes back out or it passes out the other nostril.

I've just recently tried adjusting how I hold my breath and in doing so have been able to get the solution to properly pass through the sinus tract onto the pallete.

It takes practice, but, if you hold your breath in the exhale position and relax a little (kind of like when we sometimes forget to breathe when were concentrating,
your not inhaling or exhaling or holding your breath, your just "not" breathing)you can get "alot" of salt water to pass through your nose into the back of your mouth. The trick is to do this without letting it reach your windpipe. (kind of tricky) Thats where the breath holding technique comes in. It takes some practice but its been "well worth" the effort for me. I'm not an expert on the topic, just passing on what is working for me. Hope this helps.

(lots of good info on the web for "nasal irrigation")

Good luck.

[bluesea]

Getting back to the original query posed about the best/worst places for allergies. It certainly would depend on what one is allergic to but.....

I find the greatest relief right on the ocean where clean air is blowing off the water. I believe that this has to be where the beach faces miles of open water without other land masses to send airborne particulates my way. (It helps that the place I stay in is not moldy).

I lived in Newfoundland for awhile, way up near the permafrost. Although the air was very dry, it was very clean. My allergies were nonexistant during my year long stay.

There are maps available that indicate where airborne allergens are most prevalent. You can search for these on the internet or ask your allergist.