Question:
I've avoided allergy shots thus far but my grass allergy is really
starting to get to me. If I sit on someone's lawn for more than half an
hour or so, I'm sunk - tight chest, coughing up lots of phlegm, etc.
When I was tested, I was off-the-charts positive for grass. My reaction, from what I can tell and what little I know on this
subject, is a leukotriene-type reaction - no sneezing or other immediate
reaction, but only after 20-30 minutes do I start to feel the symptoms
and even then there is no runny or stuffy nose.
Do I want to consider allergy shots? That's the $64,000 question. To
date, everyone has told me they often don't work or only work for a few
years, they're tedious and painful to get, etc.
Answer:
Maybe anit-leukotrines were made for you (Accolate/Singular)? I've been taking Singulair every day for several years. It's to
the point where, after a certain amount of a certain kind of contact
with grass, it's just not enough to do the job. I've never tried
Accolate but don't, at least as of now, have any reason to think it
would work better than Singulair. Singulair works a lot for me, just
not good enough when my exposure to grass is high. If it matters, the issue seems to be the combined time/proximity, e.g.,
standing around on a field coaching soccer for an hour is usually OK for
me, but sitting on the grass bothers me after only 20 or so minutes.
Sitting in a chair, which is more or less halfway between those two,
seems to give a more or less halfway between those two response - I can
usually get away with that for an hour or two before feeling my chest
tighten.
Here's one case: They worked quite well for me. I got 4 shots each week for about a
year, then 4 a month for a few more years (roughly). The shots were for
grass and tree pollen, animal dander (cats, mostly), mold, and dust. I
went off the shots over 10 years ago. My grass and tree pollen
allergies cleared up a LOT although not completely. That has remained
in place for 10 years. If I get a huge dose of pollen (eg. mow lots of
lawn -- which I have-- on a dry windy day) I will sneeze and get a runny
nose. But nothing like I had before. Spring was my sorry time. No
more. I rarely take decongestants in the spring anymore. Rarely notice
it. That's a very nice change.
The shots seemed to work for mold. A damp basement dosen't make me
sneeze or block me up anymore.
The shots worked least for animals. My wife and kids have two cats which
are nice (I like animals), but I don't handle them very much at all and
try to avoid them (which is, of course, impossible). If I do handle
them I get the usual symptoms I got before the shots: runny nose, very
itchy, blood-shot eyes, and itchy skin.
Bottom line: If I had to do it all over again, even though it involved
a lot of effort to get those weekly shots, I'd do it again. No brainer.
The relief was well worth it. 10 years and counting.
I had allergy shots for 5 yr; they helped some. The mix included
4 kinds of grass pollen and some tree and weed pollens. At one
point I had an anaphylactic reaction and needed 2 shots of epi.
I got one shot in each arm monthly; one shot was the generic mix
and the other the custom mix. It usually takes 6 months to reach
the peak dose. You could try it for a year to see if it helps.
Too late for this year. Have you tried an N95 face mask; the kind with a valve is
more comfortable. Like:
http://www.homeenv.com/masks_and_respirators.asp
"The MD-2 (3M 8211) N95 mask is a reusable dust mask with
exhalation valve for minimizing heat and moisture build up." Can you wear a mask while sitting on the lawn ? Know it may look odd,
but what the heck-if it helps you! I wear a mask outside when I sweep
the leaves off the driveway. I see others now in our neighborhood
wearing masks when they walk their dogs, or gardening. I found a great
mask at a local Walgreen's drug store that is a charcoal mask that the
charcoal part is on the outside and the white part is over your nose
and mouth. It has helped me a lot with no asthma, no phlem,etc.
I also take allergy shots. I tried Singulair, with no results.
Are you taking Advair,rescue inhaler, antihistimine, steroid nasal
spray?
