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January 8, 2007
Bubble boy
A couple months ago, I and a couple dad friends took our children to a really cool log cabin for a two night adventure. Or at least what was intended to be a two-night adventure. I had what can only be described as an allergic meltdown. I was sneezing like crazy, wheezing badly, my eyes were watering, and I was getting mild hives. I take a prescription antihistamine (Allegra) that was "in my system," but it wasn't doing much. In an attempt to curb the symptoms, I was taking liberal (read too many) doses of my Albuterol inhaler and popping the OTC pink Benedryl like candy just to maintain mediocre breathing, and try to stop the sneezing and watery eyes. It was about as uncomfortable as you can get before you decide that it's life threatening. I had been talking up this trip to James and Emma for months, so I was reluctant to leave. Also, It was about 15 degrees outside, so sleeping in the car or in a tent wasn't an option, I was basically stuck, in a cabin, that was slowly killing me for one night. With the aid of too much Benedryl and Albuterol I managed to get through the night and intelligently opted out of a second night. Ever since that night, my normally under-control allergies have been haywire.
This morning, I got allergy tested and the results were pretty startling. Of the 54 things that they tested via skin prick, I was allergic to 33 of them. Nurses are pretty hard to read sometimes, but I'm pretty sure that I was not the common case patient. ;-)
Here are the results. I included all of the items they tested because I thought it was interesting. I've put an x next to what I was allergic. Most reactions are similar to a mosquito bite. My dust mite reaction was about the size of dime, and I still have redness and itching the size of a quarter 6 hours later. I'm starting allergy shots on Wednesday.
| Trees | |
| x | Alder |
| x | Ash, white |
| x | Beech, American |
| x | Birch |
| Box elder | |
| x | Cedar, red |
| x | Cottonwood, eastern |
| x | Elm |
| x | Hackberry |
| x | Hazelnut |
| x | Hickory |
| x | Locust |
| x | Maple, mix |
| x | Mulberry |
| x | Oak, mix |
| Pine, Virginia | |
| Pine, white | |
| x | Sweet Gum |
| Sycamore, American/Eastern | |
| x | Walnut, black |
| x | Willow |
| Grasses | |
| x | Bermuda |
| x | Bluegrass |
| Fescue | |
| Johnson | |
| Orchard | |
| Redtop | |
| Ryegrass | |
| Timothy | |
| Weeds | |
| Cocklebur | |
| x | Dock |
| x | Kochia |
| Lamb's Quarter | |
| x | Mugwort |
| Pigweed | |
| Plantain | |
| x | Ragweed, giant |
| x | Ragweed, short |
| x | Sheep, sorrel |
| Molds | |
| x | Alternaria |
| x | Aspergilus, fumigatus |
| x | Cladosporium |
| Curvularia | |
| Epicoccum | |
| Helminthosporium | |
| Mucor | |
| Penicillium | |
| Environmentals | |
| x | Cockroach, mix |
| x | Dust mite, mix (CRAZY allergic) |
| x | Cat |
| x | Dog |
| x | Feathers |
| Controls | |
| x | Histamine |
| Saline | |
Posted by mark at January 8, 2007 3:44 PM Subscribe (FeedBurner)
Comments
WOWZA! Mark...that is crazy! How have you managed to survive so far!? :) Do they get worse as you get older? You didn't have problems like this in the Northwoods of WI, did you? Glad you found out what it was and are having those shots. Maybe you can breathe easier now!
Posted by: Kara at January 9, 2007 8:59 AM
not to diminish your pretty bad situation, but when i was a kid (from 6-13 years old), i went to an allergist weekly for 32 shots, 16 on each arm, to deal with my 32 allergies. i really doubt they stupidly deal with it that way any more, thank god...
good luck!
Posted by: mikey at January 9, 2007 12:22 PM
Mikey: That's pretty crazy. You would have had track marks! Thankfully, I get one shot that covers all the bases.
Kara: My allergies have always been bad, but with antihistamines and steroid nasal sprays I've managed to keep them largely in the background. However, your reactions do tend to get worse the more you're exposed to the allergins.
Posted by: Mark Veerman at January 9, 2007 12:46 PM