Friday, June 20, 2008

Allergies

I am nearly unpacked and getting settled in my new place with John. The only bad thing is that there is something in our bedroom I am allergic to.No idea what it is either. Allergies are nothing new to me, since I am allergic to well over 25 different things. Unfortunatly they seem to be getting worse as I get older.
We figure its not anything from my old place, since I have never had any troubles before. We thought it was the bed, since it mostly kicks in a night when we go to bed. So we have been sleeping on the futon in the other room. We cleaned the mattress and bought a mattress bag for the bed in hopes that it would help. It didn't. We then took the bed out of the room, put the futon in the room, and still no luck - I again turned into a weazing, congested, asthmatic lump. So now it appears it is not the bed. Not sure what our next step will be. I guess we will take everything out of the room and see if it still happens. It sucks when your lungs/body has to be your lab for this type of experiment. I am exausted from moving, and still not back to full strength, after the bout with strep, and so the lack of sleep from getting sick every night is not helping any. Keep your fingers crossed for me and if you have any advice or suggestions PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE feel free to share them! I am sick of being sick!

6 comments:

Jessica Ball said...

All I can recommend is Zyrtec (the one allergy medicine that won't knock me out), maybe a preventative inhaler, if you don't already have one, and getting someone to shampoo the hell out of every carpet you've got. If it's not any of your stuff, it sounds like there's something in the apartment that needs scouring (maybe mildew hiding somewhere).

Good luck with it - I know how miserable allergies can get.

ReBecca Hunt-Foster said...

Thanks!! That is the next alternative, if taking everything out of the room does not work - a serious rug cleaning!

I need to get some meds, but no insurance is really hurting me. I will have to see if Zyrtec is over the counter or not.

I hope it is not mildew/mold. That is one of my worst allergies, and I hoped that being in a nice arid climate would keep that stuff away. I am already amazed at how many people have swamp coolers here. Those things are mold/mildew breeding grounds where I come from. We will not ever be buying a house with one, that's for sure!

Anonymous said...

What's outside of the bedroom window? Anything in bloom or producing pollen? I'd go with the deep cleaning of the entire room too.
Change the filter on the furnace too, just so it's not circulating anything. Actually, I think you can buy almost HEPA quality filters for the furnace. That might help.

ReBecca Hunt-Foster said...

There are some bushed outside the windows, but they are also by the living room and office windows. We did change the filter on the furnace last year, it probably would not hurt to do it again.

Thanks :)

Silver Fox said...

My room in our little house smelled a bit when we first moved in, and it had something to do with the fact that some kind of illicit activity had probably been going on before we moved in. It made my eyes water and throat scratchy. It had gotten into the wall paneling, and the house being a rental all we could do was air it out. A lot. Wiping down all the surfaces with something like chlorox or windex (not mixed together!), seemed to help.

Mold can hide in the oddest places. If you aren't sure about the mold possibility, try wiping or soaking everything (walls, floors) with chlorox. It is the main recommended treatment for mold (at least first pass).

A knock-you-out antihistamine at night might help, also. I like something that is only supposed to last 4 to 8 hours so I don't wake up groggy. But it can help with the daytime symptoms, too.

And go ahead and get allergy tested if you have several allergies. Allergy shots can work well for many things like pollens. It can be a hassle to start with, but a blessing a couple years down the road.

Good luck!

ReBecca Hunt-Foster said...

I went to the store tonight and bought some Zyrtec like Tuff Cookie recommneded. We are also going to have the room carpets professionally cleaned tomorrow. It is only going to cost $60, so we figured might as well if it might help. We will also go ahead and wash the walls down with beach I think. The house is brand new and John is the only one who has ever lived here. I don't think he was brewing meth in the bedroom so hopefully the neighbor isn't ;)

When I get insurance again and the wedding is over I will probably go back to an allergy doctor.

Hopefully all of this will help. I will keep you updated!!