To my fellow folks with severe pollen allergies that are impacting them this season, here's some tips ig. Don't know if you'll need them, they may be common, but here ya go. Gonna include some stuff with oral allergy syndrome too bc I KNOW MY FELLOW SUFFERERS ARE OUT THERE.
MAJOR NOTE - I'M NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. But I HAVE been living with severe allergies since I was tiny. It's so bad that I WAS NOT ALLOWED to play outside in the spring and fall as a kid bc if I did, I'd end up with pink eye and be completely miserable. I've just learned lots of ways to cope.
1. Take a shower after you get home from being out and about on a high pollen count day to get the pollen off you. Don't let the pollen get in your bed. That's the bad place. That's how you wake up with crusty eyes
2. Make sure you have a clear path from your bed to your door so you can stagger your way to the bathroom if your eyes crust shut
3. A cloth or paper towel with hot hot water can help remove the eye crust
4. Children's Benadryl is a godsend. Just. Don't take it if you still have places to be/things to do. Even if you're an adult, that shit will knock you out.
5. If you live in a dry area, consider a humidifier. Sneezing repeatedly in a dry area = nosebleeds a plenty
6. There are plenty of apps and websites that let you see how high the pollen count is for the day and will let you see what the main pollen source is that day. You can use this to plan going out accordingly. This is ESPECIALLY helpful to those allergic to like. The Appalachians. Like me.
And now some things for Oral Allergy Syndrome! For context, OAS is when you have an allergic reaction to raw fruits and vegetables and nuts bc of the pollen in them. It sucks, but there are ways to get around this.
1. Blanching fruits and vegetables allow them to keep virtually the same texture for fruit salads or veggie platters. They may be a bit softer, but not by much - and if you're dipping them in ranch or something similar, you probably won't notice it.
2. If you cook, throw extra veggies in there so you get those vitamins. I use bags of frozen veggies and throw them in there with my instant noodles. Aldi is a cheap godsend, trust.
3. Enjoying fruit pastries or roasted, seasoned veggies helps kick the cravings that could outright kill you.
4. If you've got an air frier, you can wrap fruits and vegetables in foil and cook them JUST enough so they don't kill you but still, upon being chilled, still have a near identical texture. I found this out last year for watermelon and I nearly sobbed when I realized I could finally eat watermelon again.
5. Listen. People fearmonger all the time about added sugars and preservatives. But drinking minute maid still keeps you from getting scurvy. Sweetened, dried fruit STILL gets fruit in your system (but make sure it's sweetened or has preservatives or has been processed in some way so it's not still polleny).
6. DONT TRUST RESTAURANT FRUIT JUICE. ITS OFTEN MADE FRESH AND WILL MAKE YOUR THROAT ITCH AND SWELL. I HAVE MADE THIS MISTAKE. I YEARN FOR THE LEMONADE BUT THE LEMONADE WISHES TO KILL ME. DONT MAKE THIS MISTAKE
7. As of now I do NOT know how keep lettuce from wilting if you cook it. I. I don't know how to still make salads taste the same. Please if anyone knows how to keep the texture the same I will owe you my goddamn soul.
8. Multivitamins! They're your friend. You might not be getting enough with this allergy. And this way you don't get scurvy.
9. I'm serious. Scurvy is a real threat. Do you want all (and I MEAN ALL) of your old wounds reopening? No. I'm covered in scars from old bug bites. You are not a pirate. You gotta find ways that keep you from having an allergic reaction AND from getting scurvy
10. I do not care how good the fresh fruit looks it's not. Worth it. Your throat will be itchy and you will be MISERABLE. Even after a mere one blueberry. I learned this the hard way.
